Salute to Black Broadway musical revue thrills audiences

Tatyana Ross Editor-in-Chief

The Department of Art and Theatre at Jackson State University helped start off Black History Month with a celebration of AfricanAmerican culture with a musical revue: “A Salute to Black Broadway”.

The revue was conceived and directed by Theatre Arts Faculty Fellows Mark G. Henderson and Yolanda Williams with intent to introduce students to the various shows that graced the Broadway stage featuring African-Americans.

“I feel like the goal was to show the drama, the song, and the dances,” Henderson said. “And it covered all the uniqueness of our culture.”

If that was the goal, Henderson and Williams went above and beyond their expectations. The production had an overall gorgeous set design built by the theatre department’s own technical design professor, James Pettis.

The show was packed full of scenes from classics like “Raisin in the Sun”, “Dreamgirls”, “The Color Purple”, “Summertime from Porgy and Bess”, “A

Soldier with a Secret from The Colored Museum”, “For Colored Girls”, “Fences”, “The Wiz”, and “Hamilton”. Along with nodes to famous songs from the Jackson 5, and Tina, Ike, and the Ikettes. The costumes were designed by Dexter “Tokyo” Harris and I think he did a great job with creating costumes for characters throughout the show, except in the “For Colored Girls” scene. Even though one of the costume’s did not match the character, it did not take away from the overall message of the story and that is what really matters. My personal favorite was the “Dreamgirls” performance because it was also one of my favorite scenes in the original play and film. Nakyeria Allen, a junior social work major from Memphis, Tenn., played Effie and she brought down the house.

“My favorite part about the production was the cast. Even when rehearsal was extremely hectic, there were rarely any attitudes, which I could appreciate,” Allen said. “It was such a surreal moment. I have always told people that if JSU put on ‘Dreamgirls’ that I was going to be Effie.”

She added, “I said it without a doubt in my mind, but seeing my name beside the character Effie still took my breath away.”

Another scene that stood out to me was the table scene from “The Color Purple”. The cast performed it effortlessly. I have seen that film so many times and seeing it brought back the feeling I remember when I was first introduced to the movie years ago. It enhanced my experience watching this production.

Overall, I think this was my favorite production that I have ever seen produced by Jackson State’s Theatre Department. It was enjoyable for all ages and as I mentioned before, very interactive.

It seemed like everyone on the cast and crew put their best efforts into executing a practically flawless production.

The cast seemed to involve the audience’s reactions and side comments to their advantage and personally I think that this enhanced the quality of the show. I give the play two thumbs up and a five-star review.

Lil Yachty’s new album tops rock and alternative music charts

Antonio Jackson Staff Writer

Lil Yachty made his way back into the public’s eye and released his newest project, “Let’s Start Here” on Jan. 27, 2023. Unlike his previous albums, Yachty took a different approach than your typical rap album. With features from artists like Daniel Caesar, Diana Gordon, and Teezo Touchdown, the album easily falls into the alternative rock genre.

The album created a sound that I was surprised by coming from Yachty. He delivered a completely different sound that fans aren’t used to hearing from him.

The initial track, “the BLACK seminole”, did a great job at grabbing my attention because of its length (six minutes) and it’s the longest song of the album. I looked at it like he made a statement for what he wanted his album to represent.

The album did really well with pacing and I think Yachty managed to

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keep the same energy for the next few songs, “The Ride”, “Running Out of Time”, and “pRETTy”. This created a slight issue for me in the interlude, “:(failure(:”. I completely understand that interludes are meant to bring a sense of continuity to albums and it adds an overall story. But if there was a story, it was not clear on this interlude.

However, the next song “The Alchemist”, helped the album pick right back, so this slight delay can be overlooked. He drew me right back in before closing out the album with “REACH THE SUNSHINE.”

This track I feel did well in bringing the album to a close because it left me feeling fulfilled and satisfied in completing the audio journey that album provided.

One thing that I appreciated about “Let’s Start Here”, is its production. A nice touch that was added were the seamless transitions between each track. This gave the effect that the entire album could be connected as one huge song rather than individual tracks.

It’s easy to tell that every aspect

Google Image of each track, from the vocals to the beats, has been tweaked to perfection in order to make the perfect listening experience. Throughout the album, you can tell that a lot of influence came from other alternative rock figures like Gorillaz and Nirvana. I do believe that if “Let’s Start Here” is your first impression of Lil Yachty, then you may have a hard time getting into his older music. However, I will recommend this album for everyone to enjoy.

According to Billboard’s Chartbeat, Yachty’s foray into the rock world debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top

Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts.

Overall, I feel the album was a phenomenal project that came with an appreciation of how Yachty was willing to step out of his comfort zone and expand on his talent as an artist.