read my lips: Dr. Mark Anthony Neal is killin' it right now. this is the man that made my last semester at SUNY Albany bearable. his black intellectuals course showed me what time it was in terms of darker shades gettin' their learn on and connecting mental dots in terms of black history, our place in popular culture, our music, slicing through the barriers and stereotypes that others put on us (as well as the ones we put on ourselves), and how it's all connected. after his SUNY years, he did a bid over at the University of Texas, now he's doin' the Duke (University, that is). crazy commentaries abound on the 'net: a gang of music reviews and pontifications over on popmatters.com (like this one), africana.com, then he'll hop over to AOL Black Voices and flex brain tissue a lil' somethin' like this, plus there's that NPR commentary action. yeah, brother's catchin' all kinds of wreck right now.

he's written several books, the latest of which is New Black Man. and finally, FINALLY! he has his own blog. serious music journalist and crate digger Oliver Wang believes that he should have his own audioblog and i agree wholeheartedly, but that's a cyber-triumph for another time. in the meantime, please check the link below and come to know what i have: the M.A.N. will never steer you wrong.

New Black Man - The Blog

p.s. wanna drive your parents crazy? suggest to them that Marvin Gaye and R. Kelly have more in common than an older generation wants to admit. go ahead...i DARE you...