The BlerdBinder

31/10/2023

Join us for a special interview with Augusto Dom, a/k/a The Cannoli Crusader. The Bronx native and still owner of a particular long sought-after Hulk statue will share the story of his collecting journey.

As always, your comments will be shared LIVE during the broadcast.

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21/08/2023

Join us for this very special interview with a very special member of the collector family, Kris Barton.

11/02/2022

If you've ever wondered what it's like breaking into the world of commercial animation and illustration, watch this interview with special guest Adisa Kaareem.

Kareem is an Atlanta-based illustrator with a love for storytelling that has landed him opportunities to work on commercial animation projects with major networks as well as private commissions.

Your questions and comments will be shared during the broadcast.

WATCH THE BLERDBINDER FEB. 11, 2022
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10/02/2022

Join the NNPA's Taylor Thomas as she interviews the extraordinary and legendary Dionne Warwick and her son, film and music producer and composer, Damon Elliott.

They will discuss the latest project from the mother and son duo, the new single, "There's Power in the Name."

STREAMED AT 1PM, FRIDAY FEBRUARY 11:

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28/01/2022

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The fiercely private five-time Grammy award-winner who is part of the Jackson clan, an American musical dynasty, will open up about her rise to superstardom, complicated relationship with her superstar brother Michael, the infamous 2004 Super Bowl incident and subsequent blacklisting by the entertainment industry and becoming a mother at age 50. The internet is buzzing over speculation that Justin Timberlake, with whom the triple threat has had a seemingly precarious friendship, makes a surprise appearance in the documentary, executive produced by Janet and her brother Randy.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The fiercely private five-time Grammy award-winner who is part of the Jackson clan, an American musical dynasty, will open up about her rise to superstardom, complicated relationship with her superstar brother Michael, the infamous 2004 Super Bowl incident and subsequent blacklisti...

24/01/2022

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “HBCUs and their students are vital to the fabric of our nation and I will always champion for their success,” said Roland S. Martin. “I’ve witnessed first-hand the financial struggle that impacts Black college students, especially those in their final semesters. So, I’m pleased to partner with McDonald’s and TMCF to celebrate my beloved fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, and provide a resource that will help Black students graduate.”

NNPA NEWSWIRE — “HBCUs and their students are vital to the fabric of our nation and I will always champion for their success,” said Roland S. Martin. “I’ve witnessed first-hand the financial struggle that impacts Black college students, especially those in their final semesters. So, I’m ...

20/10/2021

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Fr3dR1cK (Fredrick) Taylor, founder of Tomorrow Pictures, is a creative entrepreneur, filmmaker, and culture consultant with a passion for documenting amazing stories and sharing them through digital media.

His work and travels have taken him around the world, telling stories about people, the challenges they face, and the inspiring solutions they offer. His belief that good business hinges on the inclusion of the diversity of culture led him to open Tomorrow Pictures to manage and create content for television, commercials and web, as well as to continue to take on passion projects.

His civil rights documentary Counter Histories: Rock Hill currently is screening at the Cannes Film Market, has aired nationally on PBS and was featured on Magic Johnson's television network, Aspire! as part of the American Black Film Festival series. Fred recently won an Emmy award for his documentary short “Taking J-Setting from Underground Clubs to the Main Stage."

15/10/2021

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The NNPA's Taylor Thomas interviews the founders of one of America's few Comic Cons focused on African Americans in all aspects of pop culture. If you're a fan of film, music, theatre art — and of course comics — you'll want to tune in for this interview.

14/10/2021

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Join the NNPA's Taylor Thomas as she interviews jazz legend Gerald Albright.

The two will discuss Gerald's newest project, an inspired EP, as well as some of his classics.

13/10/2021

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Howard Hewett is one of the most gifted vocalists in the Post-Marvin Gaye era of pop R&B.

He started singing as a child, fronting his older sisters in The Hewett Singers. The group toured the gospel circuit. As a teen, Hewett sharpened his crooner skills in a funk band called Lyfe. In 1976, Hewett moved to Los Angeles and formed a group put together by the owners of the historic Maverick’s Flat, called Beverly Hills.

​Hewett got his mainstream break as the male vocal lead in Shalamar, a centerpiece of Dick Griffey’s SOLAR (Sound of Los Angeles Records) label. His tenor voice mixed beautifully with the bright vocals of Jody Watley, the dancing skills of Jeffery Daniels and the writing and production of Leon Sylvers III. The group gave the world feel-good dance favorites The Second Time Around and A Night to Remember, the baby-making classic For the Lover in You, as well as a number of beautiful B-side ballads like You Can Count On Me and Somewhere There’s a Love. When Watley and Daniels left the group in 1983, Hewett continued to lead Mickey Free and Delisa Davis in the reconstituted Shalamar. This version of the group was best known for soundtrack contributions on Footloose and Beverly Hills Cop with Dancing in the Sheets and the Grammy-winning Don’t Get Stopped in Beverly Hills, respectively.

Later work shows increasing authenticity as Hewett rips song lyrics straight from his soul. It’s Time (1994- This Love is Forever), written and produced almost exclusively with long time friend and collaborator Monte Seward, displays all the vulnerability involved in falling and staying in love. In 2001, Hewett released the all inspirational album The Journey, where he shows us that his faith can’t be separated from his heart and soul.

​Hewett continues to seduce audiences and eardrums as he is constantly touring and intermittently releasing new music.

06/10/2021

At the recent Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) held through September 9th -18 th , 2021, the documentary, “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over”, which chronicles the life and career of the Grammy Award winning singing legend, won the "First Runner Up" honors in the documentary category of the TIFF People’s Choice Award. Ms. Warwick was also bestowed with the TIFF Special Tribute Award for her longtime career and work.

The documentary was a labor of love for its producer, writer and co-director Dave Wooley, who also co-authored Ms. Warwick’s autobiography, “My Life: As I See It”. “Working on Ms. Warwick’s documentary is a dream come true,” explains Wooley. “It took me five years to produce this film. While a project like thiswill have its ups and downs, especially given the time it took to complete the documentary, to see the movie come to fruition and most importantly, for Ms. Warwick to receive such accolades during her lifetime is gratifying and made it all well worth it".

The audience reaction to “Dionne Warwick: Don’t Make Me Over” at the Toronto International Film Festival amazed both Wooley and Ms. Warwick. “We received two standing ovations after the documentary was seen and the audience continued to cheer on afterwards,” Wooley says. “Keep in mind that the First Runner Up honors in the festival’s People’s Choice Awards are voted by folks in Canada who viewed the movie. We were competing against great films produced by major distributors so the competition bar was high."

This is the first theatrical documentary feature film based on the life of the singing legend. "I wanted to focus on how Ms. Warwick has been a transformational leader,” according to Wooley. “Her followers have become leaders. She has been on the forefront of change in culture throughout the decades. We focus on her work and commitment to Civil Rights in the 1960’s – specially when she and other folks of color toured the South during that time. Then we move on into the 1980’s and 1990’s with the AIDS epidemic and her ambassadorship on the US commission to address this matter, which led to Ms. Warwick prompting then-President Ronald Reagan to speak on the issue. And now here we are in 2021 and Ms. Warwick is a game changer on social media as the ‘Queen of Twitter’.”

The film marks Dave Wooley’s directorial debut.

30/09/2021

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On Thursday, September 30th at 7PM, join the NNPA's Taylor Thomas and her special guests Guy Anthony O'Brien (Master Gee of the Sugar Hill Gang) and Jeremy Beaver (DC's own DJ Boom) as the discuss the inaugural Hall of Fame Class of the Hip Hop Museum of Washington DC.

Guy Anthony O'Brien, commonly known as Master Gee, is a multi-platinum recording artist, founder and the voice of the legendary Hip Hop group The Sugarhill gang. He is an inaugural class inductee into the Hip-Hop Museum Hall of Fame and widely regarded as one of Hip-Hop's pioneering icons. He has been at the forefront of some of the most groundbreaking trends and movements in modern pop culture. He has been a trendsetter in music, dance and fashion.

As a DJ, producer, engineer and business owner for over two decades, Jeremy Beaver's (DJ Boom) studio has become the epicenter of music and Hip-Hop culture in Washington, DC. Growing up in NYC in the 1980s, he got his start as a mixtape DJ in high school, later becoming a college radio DJ and A&R for Virgin Records while attending the George Washington University. As a battle DJ, he produced and sold over 30,000 vinyl DJ Break Records in the mid 1990s, planting the seeds of what would become DC's current Hip-Hop scene.

24/09/2021

One of the first-ever hip-hop bands, Brooklyn’s Stetsasonic used beat-boxing, sampling, and live performance to elevate the musicality of the nascent genre in the 1980’s. Originally known as the “Stetson Brothers”, there were three members including Daddy-O, Delite and Wise the Human Mix Machine. Soon, the group evolved to “Stetsasonic”, adding the prolific energy of DBC (Devastating Beat Creator), Bobby Simmons, Prince Paul, and Fruitkwan. With a sound that brought R&B, jazz, dancehall and rock to a genre still shaping itself, they would pave the way for hip-hop bands like the Roots;

Stetsasonic lynchpin Prince Paul would go on to have a profound impact on the genre producing records for De La Soul, inventing horrorcore with RZA and the Gravediggaz, and groundbreaking solo records like A Prince of Thieves.

Meanwhile, Daddy-O went on to work with many artists such as, Audio Two, Chuck D, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Big Daddy Kane, Freestyle Fellowship, Junior M.A.F.I.A and Red Hot Chili Peppers as a Producer and remixer.

Though their last album was released in 1991, Stetsasonic has continued to tour and celebrate the 40th anniversary of their formation at SummerStage in Coney Island with their friends and special guests.

21/09/2021

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The celebrity gossip website, TMZ, reported that Johnson’s nephew confirmed the death. The nephew told the outlet that Johnson died “in a store in Los Angeles.” A representative for the actor said doctors pronounced him dead after arriving at an area hospital.

NNPA NEWSWIRE — The celebrity gossip website, TMZ, reported that Johnson’s nephew confirmed the death. The nephew told the outlet that Johnson died “in a store in Los Angeles.” A representative for the actor said doctors pronounced him dead after arriving at an area hospital. | Stacy M. Brow...

16/09/2021

Over the years Gabrielle Union has been a tireless advocate for the marginalized and the victimized, and fans around the world have watched her both on and off screen stand up to and speak out against injustice, in its myriad forms. Then in her 2017 New York Times bestselling essay collection, We’re Going to Need More Wine, Gabrielle demonstrated her incredible ability to unite readers all over with her insightful storytelling, honest observations and ability to start powerful conversations.

In her new collection this fall, YOU GOT ANYTHING STRONGER?, Gabrielle has crafted yet more bold and revealing essays aimed at pushing the conversations even further. From opening up about her surrogacy journey to having Kaavia James Union Wade, to navigating married life once her husband retired from basketball and taking her career to the next level, to the darkness of depression and suicidal thoughts brought on by the hormonal shifts of aging, and the hollowness of the response of many in the entertainment community during the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, Gabrielle reveals it all. For Gabrielle, it is the hard-won battles, the insights, the losses, the love and laughs that have made her the empowered and inspiring woman she is today.

“I went into writing this second book with the intention of leaving nothing on the table. So much has happened since We’re Going to Need More Wine, a lot more healing, more therapy, more perspective, and more freedom to be me. When you feel free enough to share in a real way, that’s where the true transformation and evolution happens, that’s where you build community and why I feel empowered to share these stories now. I hope readers are able to see and understand me and through these stories, see and understand parts of themselves,” said Union.

16/09/2021

New Jersey native Regina Belle has established an enviable career on the strength of her beautifully sensuous, deep voice and a collection of hit songs in the Soul, Jazz and Gospel genres.

Belle grew up singing Gospel and Soul while also playing multiple instruments. She then attended Rutgers University, where she studied both Jazz and Opera. Her big break came when she was introduced to the Manhattans and wound up touring with them and dueting with Gerald Alston on the group's "Where Did We Go Wrong" from their 1986 Back to Basics album. Both the song (which was produced by Bobby Womack) and her performance were great, and the music industry took notice, even if the public wasn't yet aware of this rising Soul star.

She recorded her first solo LP, All By Myself, the next year, and her deep sultry voice wrapped itself around the opening single, "Show Me the Way," and took it near the top of the Soul charts. She did even better two years later with the album Stay With Me and the single "Baby Come to Me," both of which hit #1. Sounding a bit like Anita Baker, but with trendier (and a bit less distinctive) production and lyrics, Belle continued to chart high over the next several years. She certainly boasted a beautiful voice, which was at its best when she was in all-out-belt mode, such as on her 1990 cover of Carvin Winans' "Make It Like It Was." It was a a gorgeous ballad and she absolutely nailed it vocally. She had more difficulty with some of her softer material, but she continued to develop into a solid song stylist over the 90s, even as the quality of her material has never wavered.