Mark Anthony Neal

3 weeks ago | levelman.com | Mark Anthony Neal |Mark Neal

In his classic study, psychologist Richard Majors (with Janet Mancini Billson) writes, "Cool Pose is a distinctive coping mechanism that serves to counter, at least in part, the dangers that black males encounter on a daily basis." As Majors notes "Cool pose...exacts a stiff price in repressed feelings and suppressed energy." There is, perhaps, no better example of the stakes of "keeping cool" than the case of Nat King Cole, who at the pinnacle of his career in the 1950s was a most visible...

Jan 12, 2025 | levelman.com | Mark Anthony Neal

There's a line in 1989's Lean On Me, a biopic of New Jersey educator Joe " bat man" Clark, that soars above the rest.

Dec 2, 2024 | levelman.com | Mark Anthony Neal

When Richard Pryor metaphorically walked off the stage for the last time on December 10, 2005, he did so quietly, with little of the verve and brashness that defined so many of his groundbreaking moments as a storyteller, comedian, recording artist, and actor. For all the direct links made between the late Pryor and post-Civil Rights comedic icons like Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, millennials have little connection with Richard Pryor and his art.

Nov 15, 2024 | levelman.com | Mark Anthony Neal

"He's a winner 'cause it's in his bloodAin't nobody who's out there like himAny corner in the neighborhoodThat's the place that you'll always find him..." - "The Dude"By any standards it would have been the end of a remarkable run. Quincy Jones released Sounds...and Stuff Like That in the summer of 1978. The album was the bookend to a series of albums where Jones refined his marriage of Jazz, Soul, Gospel and R&B.

Sep 26, 2024 | levelman.com | Mark Anthony Neal

"I hear voices, I see people...talking 'bout everything is everything" and though the lyrics aren't from the late Maurice White, co-written instead by fellow Chess Records alum Phillip Upchurch, and first recorded by the late Donny Hathaway, this line from Earth, Wind & Fire's second album The Need of Love (1971) says everything about the music of Earth, Wind and Fire and its longtime conjuror. " Everything is Everything " is from the fledgling Earth, Wind and Fire's time with Warner Brothers.