yU and The Black Opera take a deep look at the "Black Superstar."

Some of yu suffer from “do too much syndrome“, so I’ma pull a tale out the archive in order to help yu learn the art of “stay where the fuck

This is a gem from Silver Swans’ — an San Francisco electro-pop outfit– 2012 album Forever. I instantly fell in love with the synth line and light xylophone. The female vocals, provided by Annie Yu, are quite nice as well. I’m in general agreement with Consequence of Sound’s album review (a 3 out of 5 star [...]

Seattle-based singer-songwriter Shannon Stephens’ third full-length Pull It Together releases today. Throughout the album’s 11 bluesy racks, Stephens sings about the weighty world, joy, and rest. A shortlist of fine musicians make appearances, including DM Stith and Jeff Fielder. Stephens also teams up with Bonnie Prince Billy (Will Oldham) on the track “Faces Like Ours.” Seattle Weekly sings the album’s praises, saying, “From Stephens' band mates to her personal, well-spun compositions, great instincts and well-adapted acoustic flourishes define Pull It Together and make it a deeply satisfying spin.” Read the whole review over on the Weekly’s   site ...

"The faceless Black Opera collective" team up with the Diamond District's yU to address the paradox of the "Black Superstar" in American culture.

For their latest release, the mysterious Black Opera hijack a beat off  the Diamond District’s A Garbage Beat Tape. The Black Superstar has always been a paradox in American Culture. African-Americans, and many racialized ‘others’, have for a long time held this odd allure as naturally cool, while at the same time suffering the effects of a [...]

Still-mysterious duo the Black Opera return with a new track through the fine folks at Mello Music Group, who just might be hinting at a new signing? Speculation aside, this yU-produced cut is another strong socio-political joint, filled with lyrics…

As heard later in an MP3, the performance is cut short. Not by the arrival of the fire marshall, or an electrical outage, or an assault from a member of the audience. The performance went on, but it’s cut short for those of us who didn’t make the April 21, 2012, event at the YU [...]

Shannon Stephens’ strong-hearted songwriting distinguishes her infectious third release, Pull It Together . The album’s blues-meets-indie folk melodies hover underneath challenging lyrics born out of the Great Recession. And she's taking it on tour. Stephens begins her Pull It Together Tour on May 16 in Allentown, PA, winding her way through New York, Ontario, Michigan, New Jersey, Illinois, and Ohio before playing a final show in her hometown of Seattle June 8. For a complete list of tour dates, click here . We're also releasing her brand new single today, entitled “Care of You.” The song captures the essence ...

7.05.12 - Live YU - 77:12 - 192 kbps Photo: Daniel Menche Live Performance on April 21st, 2012 at the YU Contemporary Art Center located in Portland, Oregon USA. This concert was a two hour non-stop performance and this recording...

So the team at website Nomadic Wax have put together what’s probably the most essential piece of viewing of this past week. They were able to get a slew of the DMV’s finest together – yU, Raheem Devaughn, Oddisee, Noyeek, Draus,…

The good folks of Nomadic Wax, manage an extraordinary feat  by bringing together DMV’s most respected underground acts. “Clock’s Ticking” features Raheem Devaughn,... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

The production company that brought us An Inconvenient Truth, about global climate change, and Food, Inc., about the American food industry, now tackles the international water crisis with this thoroughly researched, cleverly presented, awfully depressing documentary by Jessica Yu. Since winning an Oscar for her documentary short Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O’Brien, Yu has carved out an eclectic career of esoteric documentaries (In the Realms of the Unreal, Protagonist) and popular television (The West Wing, Grey’s Anatomy). Here, she builds what she calls a “structured mosaic” of startling statistics and memorable personalities that leave ...

Do you love the smell of napalm, old sausage fests, sulphur, Old Spice and Ultra Strength Bengay in the morning? If so, you probably can't wait for "The Expendables 2." Directed by Simon West ("Con Air") and starring Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Yu Nan, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger, character posters for every single one of these actors have been released in various poses of bad-assdom.  Apparently Lionsgate has still yet to approve The Playlist's exclusive Charisma Carpenter poster. "The Expendables 2" opens on ...

While topics like pollution and climate change tend to dominate the space dedicated to environmental issues, one pressing concern that isn't talked about nearly as much is the slowly mounting global water crisis. Well, Academy Award-nominated director Jessica Yu ("Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien") hopes to shine a light on the wide range of issues surrounding water in "Last Call at the Oasis." Featuring Erin Brokovich alongside a host of other experts including Peter Gleick, Jay Famiglietti and Robert Glennon, the documentary illuminates the vital role water plays in our lives, exposes the defects ...