Entertainment
Russell Simmons Plans for a Hip-Hop Musical ‘The Scenario’
MARK KENNEDY, AP Drama Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Music mogul Russell Simmons is producing a brand new stage musical that will celebrate three generations of hip-hop, from Run DMC to Kanye West.
Simmons said Thursday that “The Scenario” will feature an original story written by author and hip-hop historian Dan Charnas, author of “The Big Payback: The History of the Business of Hip-Hop.” He’s aiming to premiere it in New York City in late 2016.
“People will sing along and leave happy,” Simmons said. “So many of these songs will reach everybody in the audience. That almost never happens.”
Simmons, who won a 2003 Tony for producing “Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam,” said the new musical will have a love story, contain a fight-the-power element and be a “celebration of hip-hop.” It’s still being written and song selection will likely be a tough task.
“There are so many great songs!” he said. “Do I need something from Kurtis Blow? From Drake? I just don’t know. Jay-Z? LL Cool J?”
Simmons was one of the first players in the burgeoning hip hop scene in the 1980s. He is co-founder of the pioneering Def Jam Recordings record label, which has represented such artists like the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, LL Cool J and Kanye West. And Simmons also created the Def Comedy franchise.
Jukebox musicals have been made with punk songs, hair metal, Abba songs and Carole King, but rap and hip-hop music has yet to produce a Broadway hit. “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” a rap musical that used over 20 Tupac Shakur songs, closed last year after less than two months.
Though Simmons never saw “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” he said he didn’t consider it to be “a celebration of hip-hop” and “I don’t see any way in the word to compare what I want to do with what they did.”
He said “The Scenario” will lean more toward a celebration of the music of hip-hop than social commentary, although “you can’t help but mention that it did more to integrate America than any other pop cultural phenomenon.”
The new musical will be produced by Simmons; Def Pictures/Jake Stein; Big Block/Scott Prisand, Scott Benson, Tom Pellegrini and Jamie Bendell; Brian Sher and Stella Bulichnikov.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Arts and Culture
Third Annual Town Up Tuesday Lifts Oakland’s Community, Culture and Joy
Urban Peace Movement announced Town Up Tuesday, a free community music and social awareness festival dedicated to the people of Oakland to celebrate Bay Area culture and create safety by fostering connection and belonging. It will be on Tuesday, May 21, at Edoff Memorial Bandstand at Lake Merritt from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
By Kyung Jin Lee
Urban Peace Movement announced Town Up Tuesday, a free community music and social awareness festival dedicated to the people of Oakland to celebrate Bay Area culture and create safety by fostering connection and belonging.
It will be on Tuesday, May 21, at Edoff Memorial Bandstand at Lake Merritt from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The event will feature local Bay Area legends and rising stars home-grown talent that will include 10 performers: 1100 Himself, The Conscious Daughters, Michael Sneed, Trunk Boiz, 3LISE, The Animaniakz and Ms. Bria.
Too $hort is a special guest and there will also be a surprise legendary Oakland artist. The two DJs are Emelle & Dahge, and the two hosts are Dnas and Mystic.
Past performers have included: Kamaiyah, Yukmouth, Stunnaman02, Symba, Lil Kayla, Grand Nationxl, Jane Handcock, and D Smoke, among others.
“Oakland is a historically Black city and one of the most diverse and progressive in the country — a city rich with culture,” said Nicole Lee, executive director of the Urban Peace Movement.
“At a time when we are being scapegoated for political gain and negative narratives of Oakland permeate the press, we’re uplifting who we truly are and all the things that make this region so special.”
About Urban Peace Movement: Urban Peace Movement (UPM) is a racial justice organization working to end mass incarceration and the criminalization of Black and Brown communities in Oakland. https://urbanpeacemovement.org/ @urbanpeace510
Kyung Jin Lee is the media representative for the Urban Peace Movement.
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The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May May 15 – 21, 2024
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Activism
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