Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light. Although black is sometimes described as an "achromatic", or hueless, color, in practice it can be considered a color, as in expressions like "black cat" or "black paint".

Etymology

The word ''black'' comes from Old English ''blæc'' ("black, dark", ''also'', "ink"), from Proto-Germanic *''blakkaz'' ("burned"), from Proto-Indo-European *''bhleg-'' ("to burn, gleam, shine, flash"), from base *''bhel-'' ("to shine"), related to Old Saxon ''blak'' ("ink"), Old High German ''blah'' ("black"), Old Norse ''blakkr'' ("dark"), Dutch ''blaken'' ("to burn"), and Swedish ''bläck'' ("ink"). More distant cognates include Latin ''flagrare'' ("to blaze, glow, burn"), and Ancient Greek ''phlegein'' ("to burn, scorch"). ''Black'' supplanted the wonted Old English word ''sweart'' ("black, dark"), which survives as swart, swarth, and swarthy (compare German ''schwarz'' and Dutch ''zwart'', "black").

Color or light in science

Black can be defined as the visual impression experienced when no visible light reaches the eye. (This makes a contrast with whiteness, the impression of any combination of colors of light that equally stimulates all three types of color-sensitive visual receptors.)

Pigments or dyes that absorb light rather than reflect it back to the eye "look black". A black pigment can, however, result from a ''combination'' of several pigments that collectively absorb all colors. If appropriate proportions of three primary pigments are mixed, the result reflects so little light as to be called "black".

This provides two superficially opposite but actually complementary descriptions of black. Black is the lack of all colors of light, or an exhaustive combination of multiple colors of pigment. See also Primary colors

{| style="border:solid 1px black;" align=right |+ † various CMYK combinations !c!!m!!y!!k |- |align=right|0%||align=right|0%||align=right|0%||align=right|100%||align=center| (canonical) |- |align=right|100%||align=right|100%||align=right|100%||align=right|0%||align=center| (ideal inks, theoretical only) |- |align=right|100%||align=right|100%||align=right|100%||align=right|100%||align=center| (registration black) |}

In physics, a black body is a perfect absorber of light, but, by a thermodynamic rule, it is also the best emitter. Thus, the best radiative cooling, out of sunlight, is by using black paint, though it is important that it be black (a nearly perfect absorber) in the infrared as well.

In elementary science, far Ultraviolet light is called "black light" because, unseen, it causes many minerals and other substances to fluoresce.

On January 16, 2008, researchers from Troy, New York’s Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced the creation of the darkest material on the planet. The material, which reflects only .045 percent of light, was created from carbon nanotubes stood on end. This is 1/30 of the light reflected by the current standard for blackness, and one third the light reflected by the previous record holder for darkest substance.

Absorption of light

A material is said to be black if most incoming light is absorbed equally in the material. Light (electromagnetic radiation in the visible spectrum) interacts with the atoms and molecules, which causes the energy of the light to be converted in to other forms of energy, usually heat. This means that black surfaces can act as thermal collectors, absorbing light and generating heat(see Solar thermal collector).

Absorption of light is contrasted by transmission, reflection and diffusion, where the light is only redirected, causing objects to appear transparent, reflective or white respectively.

Usage, symbolism, colloquial expressions

Authority and seriousness

Black can be seen as the color of authority and seriousness.

Black Watch is the senior Highland Regiment of the British Army.

In Japanese culture, ''kuro'' (black) is a symbol of nobility, age, and experience, as opposed to ''shiro'' (white), which symbolizes serfdom, youth, and naiveté. Thus the black belt is a mark of achievement and seniority in many martial arts, whereas in, for example, Shotokan karate, a white belt is a rank-less belt that comes before all other belts. These ranks are called ''dan''.

Black was the color of the Arab dynasty of Abbasid caliphs, which is the reason black is frequently used in flags of Arab countries.

The riot control units of the Basque Autonomous Police in Spain are known as ''beltzak'' ("blacks") after their uniform.

Traditionally, British police vehicles (''panda cars'') were in black and white.

Clothing

Academic dress includes black robes for graduates.

Black tuxedos are worn at formal occasions known as black tie functions.

Black is worn by religious figures within Christianity, e.g. priests (especially of the older religious denominations), monks and nuns.

Black is worn by Hassidic Jews.

Black is worn by some Muslim women; see List of types of sartorial hijab for photographs of examples such as the ''abaya''.

Lawyers and judges often wear black robes.

Many performers of European classical music or other serious art music dress in black for a concert or recital.

Members of the modern goth and some punk subcultures dress predominantly in black (see also goth fashion).

Demography

The term "black" is often used in the West to denote the ethnicity of people whose actual skin color ranges from light to darker shades of brown such as sepia. For a discussion of usage, see the main entry at Black people and color terminology for race.

Music

"All Black" is a song by Good Charlotte that depicts the love for the color black.

"Black & White", a song by In Flames from their album ''Reroute To Remain Fourteen Songs of Conscious Insanity''.

"Paint It Black" is a 1966 hit song by The Rolling Stones.

"Black Dog" is a song by Led Zeppelin.

Metallica's self titled album is known as "The Black Album.," and "Fade to Black" is a song off their 1984 album, Ride the Lightning.

''The Black Album'' from rapper Jay-Z

''The Black Album'' by Victor Tsoy.

Amy Winehouse's Grammy Award winning song and album ''Back to Black''.

Black metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. including bands such as Darkthrone and Mayhem.

Johnny Cash was commonly referred to as "The Man in Black" due to his preference for black clothing. His song "Man in Black" presents it as a show of solidarity with the outcasts of society.

The folk song "Black Is the Color (of My True Love's Hair)".

The band AC/DC sang "Back in Black", a song about being successful and ambitious once again.

Black Flag was an American punk rock band formed in 1977 in Hermosa Beach, California that broke up in 1986.

"Red on Black", a song by Alisa.

"Black or White", the first single off of Michael Jackson's ''Dangerous'' album.

''Black is Black'', a 1966 hit single by Spanish band Los Bravos.

Philosophy

In arguments, things can be black-and-white, meaning that the issue at hand is dichotomized (having two clear, opposing sides with no middle ground).

In ancient China, black was the symbol of ''North'' and ''Water'', one of the main five colors.

Politics

The List of black flags, although not exclusively political, gives many political meanings.

The Lützow Free Corps, composed of volunteer German students and academics fighting against Napoleon in 1813, could not afford to make special uniforms and therefore adopted black, as the only color that could be used to dye their civilian clothing without the original color showing. As these volunteers were greatly praised and glorified by later revolutionaries, their choice of the black color might have influenced its later connotations.

Black is used for anarchist symbolism, sometimes split in diagonal with other colors to show alignment with another political philosophy. The plain black flag is explained in various ways, sometimes as an anti-flag or a non-flag. Wearing black clothing is also sometimes an anarchist tactic during demonstrations, with a practical benefit of not attracting attention and making later identification of a subject difficult. This strategy is referred to as a black bloc.

In Portuguese politics, black (and red) is the party color of the Left Bloc.

The blackshirts were Italian Fascist militias.

In Nazi Germany, the ''blackshirts'' was a nickname for the SS, as opposed to the ''brownshirts'', the SA.

The black triangle was used by the Nazis to designate "asocial" people (homeless and Roma, for example); later the symbol was adopted by lesbian culture.

Science

Black sky refers to the appearance of space as one emerges from the Earth's atmosphere.

A black dwarf is the designation used in astronomy for a star that has burned out.

The term "black hole" is applied to collapsed stars.

Black body radiation refers to the radiation coming from a body at a given temperature where all incoming energy (light) is converted to heat.

Sexuality

In the bandana code of the gay leather subculture, wearing a black bandana means that one is into the Sexual fetish of Sadomasochism, sadists wearing the bandana in the left rear pocket, masochists on the right.

Sport

The national rugby union team of New Zealand is called the ''All Blacks'', in reference to their black outfits, and the color is also shared by other New Zealand national teams such as the Black Caps (cricket) and the Kiwis (rugby league).

Association football (soccer) referees traditionally wear all-black uniforms, however nowadays other uniform colors may also be worn.

A large number of teams have uniforms designed with black colors—many feeling the color sometimes imparts a psychological advantage in its wearers. Among the more famous (or infamous) include Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat of the NBA, and Inter Milan of the Serie A of the Italian soccer leagues.

In auto racing, a black flag signals a driver to go into the pits.

In baseball, "the black" refers to the batter's eye, a blacked out area around the center-field bleachers, painted black to give hitters a decent background for pitched balls.

Ambiguity and secrecy

A ''black box'' is any device whose internal workings are unknown or inexplicable. In theatre, the black box is a smaller, undecorated theater whose auditorium and stage relationship can be configured in various way.

A ''black project'' is a secretive project, like Enigma Decryption, other classified military programs or operations, Narcotics, or police sting operations.

Some organizations are called "black" when they keep a low profile, like Sociétés Anonymes and secret societies.

A polished black mirror is used for scrying, and is thought to help see into the paranormal world without interference or distraction.

Black frequently symbolizes ambiguity, secrecy, and the unknown.

Beliefs, religions and superstitions

Black is a symbol of mourning and bereavement in Western societies, especially at funerals and memorial services. In some traditional societies, within for example Greece and Italy, widows wear black for the rest of their lives. In contrast, across much of Africa and parts of Asia, white is a color of mourning and is worn during funerals.

In English heraldry, black means darkness, doubt, ignorance, and uncertainty.

The Black Sun is an occult symbol that is said to be related to Nazism and occultism.

In the Maasai tribes of Kenya and Tanzania, the color black is associated with rain clouds, a symbol of life and prosperity.

Native Americans associated black with the life-giving soil.

The Hindu deity Krishna means "the black one".

The medieval Christian sect known as the Cathars viewed black as a color of perfection.

The Rastafari movement sees black as beautiful.

In the Japanese culture, Black is associated with honor, not death with the white color being associated with death.

Black-dog bias is a veterinarian and animal shelter phenomenon in which black dogs are passed over for adoption in favor of lighter colored animals.

Black cats may be thought of as either good luck or bad.

Economy

To say one's accounts are "in the black" is used to mean that one is or "no longer in the red", or free of debt .

* Being "in the red" is to be in debt—in traditional bookkeeping, negative amounts, such as costs, were printed in red ink, and positive amounts, like revenues, were printed in black ink, so that if the "bottom line" is printed in black, the firm is profiting.

Fashion

In Western fashion, black is considered stylish, sexy, elegant and powerful.

The colloquialism "X is the new black" is a reference to the latest trend or fad that is considered a wardrobe basic for the duration of the trend, on the basis that black is always fashionable. The phrase has taken on a life of its own as a snowclone, and has been stretched and parodied as a rhetorical device and a cliché.

Symbolic dualism with white

Black magic is a destructive or evil form of magic, often connected with death, as opposed to white magic. This was already apparent during Ancient Egypt when the Cush Tribe invaded Egyptian plantations along the Nile River.

Evil witches are stereotypically dressed in black and good fairies in white.

In computer security, a blackhat is an attacker with evil intentions, while a whitehat bears no such ill will. (This is derived from the Western movie convention.)

In many Hollywood Westerns, bad cowboys wear black hats while the good ones wear white.

Melodrama villains are dressed in black and heroines in white dresses.

Historical events

A "black day" (or week or month) usually refers to a sad or tragic time. The Romans marked ''fasti'' days with white stones and ''nefasti'' days with black.

* E.g., the Wall Street Crash 1929, the stock market crash on October 29, 1929, which is the start of the Great Depression, is nicknamed Black Tuesday, and was preceded by Black Thursday, a downturn on October 24 the previous week.

* Black Monday, stock market crash on October 19, 1987.

* Black Wednesday caused Britain to pull out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.

* Black Friday, various tragic events.

Black months include:

* the Black September in Jordan, in which thousands of people were killed.

* Black July killing of the Tamil population by the Sinhalese government in Sri Lanka.

* Black Spring 2001 (''Printemps noir''), in the Berber region of Kabylia (Algeria), when the police shot and killed more than 100 people.

The Black Death, also known as the Black Plague, was a pandemic in Europe that killed tens of millions of people.

The Black Hole of Calcutta was the overcrowding of an impromptu prison cell in which many died.

Expressions

A black-hearted person is mean and unloving.

A blacklist is a list of undesirable persons or entities (to be placed on the list is to be "blacklisted").

Black comedy is a form of comedy dealing with morbid and serious topics.

A black mark against a person relates to something bad they have done.

A black mood is a bad one (cf Winston Churchill's clinical depression, which he called "my black dog").

Black market is used to denote the trade of illegal goods, or alternatively the illegal trade of otherwise legal items at considerably higher prices, e.g. to evade rationing.

Black propaganda is the use of known falsehoods, partial truths, or masquerades in propaganda to confuse an opponent.

Blackmail is the act of threatening to reveal information about a person unless the threatened party fulfills certain demands. This information is usually of an embarrassing or socially damaging nature. Ordinarily, such a threat is illegal.

If the black eight-ball, in billiards, is sunk before all others are out of play, the player loses.

The black sheep of the family is the ne'er-do-well.

To blackball someone is to block their entry into a club or some such institution. In the traditional English gentlemen's club, members vote on the admission of a candidate by secretly placing a white or black ball in a hat. If upon the completion of voting, there was even one black ball amongst the white, the candidate would be denied membership, and he would never know who had "blackballed" him.

Black tea in the Western culture is known as "crimson tea" in Chinese and culturally influenced languages, (紅 茶, Mandarin Chinese ''hóngchá''; Japanese ''kōcha''; Korean ''hongcha''), perhaps a more accurate description of the color of the liquid.

"The black" is a wildfire suppression term referring to a burned area on a wildfire capable of acting as a safety zone.

Black coffee refers to coffee without sugar or cream.

Pigments

Black pigments include carbon black, charcoal black, ebony, ivory black and onyx.

See also

List of colors

Rich black, which is different from using black ink alone, in printing.

References

External links

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All About Black

Category:Color Category:Nothing Category:Spoken articles Category:Darkness

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Birth name	Byron Patrick Hurt
Birth date	December 31, 1969
Residence	Plainfield, New Jersey
Nationality
Education	Northeastern University
Home town	Islip , New York
Spouse
Website	http://www.bhurt.com/
Footnotes	}}

Byron Patrick Hurt (born December 31, 1969) is an American activist and documentary filmmaker.

Biography

Byron Hurt attended Northeastern University, where he played football as a quarterback, and founded God Bless the Child Productions before graduating with a degree in Journalism in 1993. Upon graduation he was hired by the university's Center for the Study of Sport in Society to help form the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program with the purpose of educating young men about gender and sexual violence. This experience led Hurt to produce and direct the documentary ''I Am A Man: Black Masculinity in America''. After noticing the repeated theme of machismo in numerous rap music videos, Hurt then set about creating ''Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes'', an exploration of the pervasive issues of masculinity, sexism, violence and homophobia in hip-hop culture. Hurt is also the former associate director of the United States Marine Corps gender violence prevention program. On September 30, 2006, Byron Hurt married Kenya Felice Crumel at their home in Plainfield, New Jersey.

Filmography

''Moving Memories: The Black Senior Video Yearbook''

''I Am A Man: Black Masculinity in America''

''Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes''

Generation M: Misogyny in Media and Culture

Notes

References

''Independent Lens - Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes'' - Filmmaker Statement PBS. Accessed March 7, 2008.

External links

Official website

Category:American documentary filmmakers Category:Documentary film directors Category:Documentary film producers Category:Living people Category:People from Plainfield, New Jersey Category:1969 births Category:American film producers

Professor Griff is an American rapper and spoken word artist. He is a member of the hip hop group Public Enemy and head of the Security of the First World.

Early years in Public Enemy

After returning from the army, he started a security service to work the local party circuit, calling it Unity Force. At the time, Carlton Ridenhour (a.k.a. Chuck D) was part of the Spectrum City DJ-for-hire service led by Hank Shocklee, and Spectrum and Unity Force frequently worked side-by-side at local events. When Public Enemy was formed and signed to Def Jam, Ridenhour invited Griffin to be a sideman. Unity Force was renamed "The Security of the First World", or S1W for short. The S1W's were brought along, and became a curious combination of bodyguards/dancers for the band. Their stage routines were a loose combination of martial arts, military drill and "step show" dances lifted from black college fraternities.

His role was also that of road manager and "Minister of Information", the intellectual public face of the band for interviews et cetera, as Flavor Flav was the "fun" one. He was rarely MC'ing, except between songs. Professor Griff has started to emerge on the conspiracy theory scene, typically New World Order conspiracy theory. He is known for linking these allegations to past and present celebrities.

Controversy and departure from Public Enemy

Before the release of ''It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back'', Professor Griff, in his role as Minister of Information, gave interviews to UK magazines on behalf of Public Enemy, during which he made homophobic and anti-Semitic remarks. However, there was little controversy until May 22, 1989, when Griffin was interviewed by the ''Washington Times''. At the time, Public Enemy enjoyed unprecedented mainstream attention with the single "Fight the Power" from the soundtrack of Spike Lee's ''Do the Right Thing''.

During the interview with David Mills, Griffin made numerous statements such as "Jews are responsible for the majority of the wickedness in the world". When the interview was published, a media firestorm emerged, and the band found themselves under intense scrutiny.

In a series of press conferences, Griffin was either fired, quit, or never left. Def Jam co-founder Rick Rubin had already left the label by then; taking his place alongside Russell Simmons was Lyor Cohen, the son of Israeli immigrants who had run Rush Artist Management since 1985. Before the dust settled, Cohen claims to have arranged for a Holocaust Museum to give the band a private tour.

In an attempt to defuse the situation, Ridenhour first expressed an apology on his behalf, and fired Griffin soon thereafter. Griffin later rejoined the group, provoking more protests, causing Ridenhour to briefly disband the group. When Public Enemy reformed, due to increasing attention from the press and pressure from Def Jam hierarchy, Griffin was no longer with the band.

Griffin later publicly expressed remorse for his statements after a meeting with the National Holocaust Awareness Student Organization in 1990.

In his 2009 book, titled ''Analytixz'', Griff once again admitted the faults in his alleged 1989 statement: "To say the Jews are responsible for the majority of wickedness that went on around the globe, I would have to know about the majority of wickedness that went on around the globe, which is impossible...I'm not the best knower—[God] is. Then, not only knowing that, I would have to know who is at the crux of all of the problems in the world and then blame Jewish people, which is not correct." Griff also pointed out that not only were his words taken out of context, but that the recording was never released to the public for an unbiased listen.

Afrocentrism

Although himself partly Native American, Griffin embraced a radical form of Afrocentrism. "Muslim, Christian, Jew / Here's a little somethin' I thought you knew / There is only one God and God is one / The rich praises none."

After his departure from Public Enemy, Griffin formed his own group, the Last Asiatic Disciples. Griffin's albums were of an Islamic and Afrocentric style, combined with increasingly spoken word lyrics.

He is a member of the Nation of Islam and the Nation of Gods and Earths, which his lyrics and record titles as a solo artist referenced. Another general theme in his lyrics is New World Order conspiracy.

Discography

Year	Album	Chart Positions
		! width="45"	! width="45"
1990		127	24
1991		—	70
1992		—	—
1998		—	—
2001		—	—

Official Website

Professor Griff - Official Website http://www.pgriff.info

Footnotes

Category:African American Muslims Category:American rappers Category:American people of Native American descent Category:African American rappers Category:Members of the Nation of Islam Category:Living people Category:Members of the Nation of Gods and Earths Category:People from Nassau County, New York Category:Public Enemy members Category:Rappers from Long Island Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

de:Professor Griff fr:Professor Griff

name	Nina Simone
background	solo_singer
birth name	Eunice Kathleen Waymon
birth date	February 21, 1933
Birth place	Tryon, North Carolina, United States
death date	April 21, 2003
Death place	Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
genre	Jazz, blues, R&B, folk, gospel
occupation	Singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, activist
years active	1954–2003
label	Bethlehem, Colpix, Philips, RCA Victor, CTI, Legacy Recordings
website	http://www.ninasimone.com/ }}

Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone (), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop.

Born the sixth child of a preacher's family in North Carolina, Simone aspired to be a concert pianist as a child. Her musical path changed direction after she was denied a scholarship to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, despite a well-received audition. Simone was later told by someone working at Curtis that she was rejected because she was black. She then began playing in a small club in Philadelphia to fund her continuing musical education to become a classical pianist and was required to sing as well. She was approached for a recording by Bethlehem Records, and her rendition of "I Loves You Porgy" became a smash hit in the United States in 1958. and accompanied with her expressive jazz-like singing in her characteristic low tenor. She injected as much of her classical background into her music as possible to give it more depth and quality, as she felt that pop music was inferior to classical. Her intuitive grasp on the audience-performer relationship was gained from a unique background of playing piano accompaniment for church revivals and sermons regularly from the early age of six years.

After 20 years of performing, she became involved in the civil rights movement and the direction of her life shifted once again.

Biography

Youth (1933–1954)

Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in Tryon, North Carolina. The sixth of eight children in a poor family, she began playing piano at age three; the first song she learned was "God Be With You, Till We Meet Again". Demonstrating a talent with the instrument, she performed at her local church, but her concert debut, a classical recital, was given when she was twelve. Simone later said that during this performance her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the hall to make way for white people. Simone said she refused to play until her parents were moved back to the front, and that the incident contributed to her later involvement in the civil rights movement.

Simone's mother, Mary Kate Waymon, was a strict Methodist minister and a housemaid. Simone's father, John Divine Waymon, was a handyman who at one time owned a dry cleaning business, but who also suffered bouts of ill health. Mary Kate's employer, hearing of her daughter's talent, provided funds for piano lessons. Subsequently, a local fund was set up to assist in Simone's continued education. With the assistance of this scholarship money she attended high school.

After finishing high school, she had studied for an interview with the help of a private tutor to study piano further at the Curtis Institute, but she was rejected. Simone believed that this rejection was related directly to her race. Simone then moved to New York City, where she studied at the Juilliard School of Music.

Early success (1954–1959)

To fund her private lessons, Simone performed at the Midtown Bar & Grill on Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City, whose owner insisted that she sing as well as play the piano. In 1954 she adopted the stage name Nina Simone. "Nina" (from niña, meaning 'little girl' in Spanish) was a nickname a boyfriend had given to her, and "Simone" was taken from the French actress Simone Signoret, whom she had seen in the movie ''Casque d'or''. Simone's mixture of jazz, blues, and classical music in her performances at the bar earned her a small, but loyal, fan base.

In 1958, she befriended and married Don Ross, a beatnik who worked as a fairground barker, but quickly regretted their marriage. After playing in small clubs, in 1958 she recorded a rendition of George Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy" (from ''Porgy and Bess''), which she learned from a Billie Holiday album and performed as a favor to a friend. It became her only ''Billboard'' top 40 success in the United States, and her debut album ''Little Girl Blue'' soon followed on Bethlehem Records. Simone missed out on more than $1 million in royalties (mainly because of the successful re-release of ''My Baby Just Cares for Me'' during the 1980s) and never benefited financially from the album, because she had sold her rights to it for $3,000.

Becoming popular (1959–1964)

After the success of ''Little Girl Blue'', Simone signed a contract with Colpix Records, and recorded a string of studio and live albums. Colpix relinquished all creative control to her, including the choice of material that would be recorded, in exchange for her signing the contract with them. At this point, Simone only performed pop music to make money to continue her classical music studies, and was indifferent about having a recording contract. She kept this attitude toward the record industry for most of her career.

Simone married a New York police detective, Andrew Stroud, in 1961; Stroud later became her manager.

Civil rights era (1964–1974)

In 1964, she changed record distributors, from the American Colpix to the Dutch Philips, which also meant a change in the contents of her recordings. Simone had always included songs in her repertoire that drew upon her African-American origins (such as "Brown Baby" and "Zungo" on ''Nina at the Village Gate'' in 1962). On her debut album for Philips, ''Nina Simone In Concert'' (live recording, 1964), however, Simone for the first time openly addressed the racial inequality that was prevalent in the United States with the song "Mississippi Goddam", her response to the murder of Medgar Evers and the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama that killed four black children. The song was released as a single, and it was boycotted in certain southern states. "Old Jim Crow", on the same album, addressed the Jim Crow Laws.

From then on, a civil rights message was standard in Simone's recording repertoire, becoming a part of her live performances. Simone performed and spoke at many civil rights meetings, such as at the Selma to Montgomery marches. Simone advocated violent revolution during the civil rights period, rather than Martin Luther King's non-violent approach, and she hoped that African Americans could, by armed combat, form a separate state. Nevertheless, she wrote in her autobiography that she and her family regarded all races as equal.

She covered Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit", a song about the lynching of black men in the South, on ''Pastel Blues'' (1965). She also sang the W. Cuney poem "Images" on ''Let It All Out'' (1966), about the absence of pride she saw among African-American women. Simone wrote "Four Women", a song about four different stereotypes of African-American women, and included the recording on her 1966 album ''Wild Is the Wind''.

Simone moved from Philips to RCA Victor during 1967. She sang "Backlash Blues", written by her friend Langston Hughes on her first RCA album, ''Nina Simone Sings The Blues'' (1967). On ''Silk & Soul'' (1967), she recorded Billy Taylor's "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free" and "Turning Point". The album ''Nuff Said'' (1968) contains live recordings from the Westbury Music Fair, April 7, 1968, three days after the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. She dedicated the whole performance to him and sang "Why? (The King Of Love Is Dead)", a song written by her bass player, Gene Taylor, directly after the news of King's death had reached them. In the summer of 1969 she performed at the Harlem Cultural Festival in Harlem's Mount Morris Park.

Together with Weldon Irvine, Simone turned the late Lorraine Hansberry's unfinished play ''To Be Young, Gifted, and Black'' into a civil rights song. Hansberry had been a personal friend whom Simone credited with cultivating her social and political consciousness. She performed the song live on the album ''Black Gold'' (1970). A studio recording was released as a single, and renditions of the song have been recorded by Aretha Franklin (on her 1972 album ''Young, Gifted and Black'') and by Donny Hathaway.

Later life (1974–2003)

Simone left the United States in September 1970, flying to Barbados and expecting Stroud to communicate with her when she had to perform again. However, Stroud interpreted Simone's sudden disappearance, and the fact that she had left behind her wedding ring, as an indication of a desire for a divorce. As her manager, Stroud was in charge of Simone's income.

When Simone returned to the United States she learned that a warrant had been issued for her arrest for unpaid taxes (as a protest against her country's involvement with the Vietnam War), causing her to return to Barbados again to evade the authorities and prosecution. Simone stayed in Barbados for quite some time and she had a lengthy affair with the Prime Minister, Errol Barrow. A close friend, singer Miriam Makeba, then persuaded her to go to Liberia. After that she lived in Switzerland and the Netherlands, before settling in France during 1992.

She recorded her last album for RCA, ''It Is Finished'', during 1974. Simone did not make another record until 1978, when she was persuaded to go into the recording studio by CTI Records owner Creed Taylor. The result was the album ''Baltimore'', which, while not a commercial success, did get good reviews and marked a quiet artistic renaissance in Simone's recording output. Her choice of material retained its eclecticism, ranging from spiritual songs to Hall & Oates' "Rich Girl". Four years later Simone recorded ''Fodder On My Wings'' on a French label. During the 1980s Simone performed regularly at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London, where she recorded the album ''Live at Ronnie Scott's'' in 1984. Although her early on-stage style could be somewhat haughty and aloof, in later years, Simone particularly seemed to enjoy engaging her audiences sometimes by recounting humorous anecdotes related to her career and music and by soliciting requests. In 1987, the original 1958 recording of "My Baby Just Cares For Me" was used in a commercial for Chanel No. 5 perfume in the United Kingdom. This led to a re-release of the recording, which stormed to number 4 on the UK's ''NME'' singles chart, giving her a brief surge in popularity in the UK. Her autobiography, ''I Put a Spell on You'', was published in 1992. She recorded her last album, ''A Single Woman'', in 1993.

In 1993, Simone settled near Aix-en-Provence in Southern France. She had suffered from breast cancer for several years before she died in her sleep at her home in Carry-le-Rouet, Bouches-du-Rhône on April 21, 2003. (In addition, Simone received a diagnosis of bipolar disorder in the late 1980s). Her funeral service was attended by singers Miriam Makeba and Patti Labelle, poet Sonia Sanchez, actor Ossie Davis, and hundreds of others. Elton John sent a floral tribute with the message "You were the greatest and I love you". Simone's ashes were scattered in several African countries. She left behind a daughter, Lisa Celeste Stroud, an actress and singer, who took the stage name Simone, and has appeared on Broadway in ''Aida''.

Musical style

Simone standards

Throughout her career, Simone assembled a collection of songs that would become standards in her repertoire. These songs were self-written tunes, tributes to works by others with a new arrangement by Simone, or songs written especially for Simone. Her first hit song in America was her rendition of George Gershwin's "I Loves You, Porgy" (1958). It peaked at number 18 in the pop singles chart and number 2 on the black singles chart. During that same period Simone recorded "My Baby Just Cares for Me", which would become her biggest success years later, in 1987, when it was featured in a Chanel No. 5 perfume commercial. A music video was created by Aardman Studios for the commercial. !!DON'T put detailed cover/sample/soundtrack use of songs here, only the very basics. Put that sort of information on the ARTICLE ABOUT THE SONG OR ALBUM!! Well known songs from her Philips albums include "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" on ''Broadway-Blues-Ballads'' (1964), "I Put a Spell on You", "Ne Me Quitte Pas" (a rendition of a Jacques Brel song) and "Feeling Good" on ''I Put A Spell On You'' (1965), "Lilac Wine" and "Wild Is the Wind" on ''Wild is the Wind'' (1966). Especially the songs "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", "Feeling Good", and "Sinnerman" (''Pastel Blues'', 1965) have great popularity today in terms of cover versions (most notably a version of the former song by The Animals), sample usage, and its use on soundtracks for various movies, TV-series, and video games. "Sinnerman", in particular, has been featured in the TV series ''Scrubs'', ''Person of Interest'', and ''Sherlock'', and on movies such as ''The Thomas Crown Affair'', ''Miami Vice'', and ''Inland Empire'', and sampled by artists such as Talib Kweli and Timbaland. The song "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" was sampled by Devo Springsteen on "Misunderstood" from Common's 2007 album ''Finding Forever'', and by little-known producers Rodnae and Mousa for the song "Don't Get It" on Lil Wayne's 2008 album ''Tha Carter III''. The song "See-Line Woman" was sampled by Kanye West for "Bad News" on his album ''808s and Heartbreak''.

Simone's years at RCA-Victor spawned a number of singles and album tracks that were popular, particularly in Europe. In 1968, it was "Ain't Got No, I Got Life", a medley from the musical ''Hair'' from the album '''Nuff Said!'' (1968) that became a surprise hit for Simone, reaching number 4 on the UK pop charts and introducing her to a younger audience. In 2006, it returned to the UK Top 30 in a remixed version by Groovefinder. The following single, the Bee Gees' rendition of "To Love Somebody" also reached the UK top 10 in 1969. "House of the Rising Sun" was featured on ''Nina Simone Sings The Blues'' in 1967, but Simone had recorded the song in 1961 and it was featured on ''Nina At The Village Gate'' (1962), predating the versions by Dave Van Ronk and Bob Dylan. It was later covered by The Animals, for whom it became a signature hit.

Performing style

Simone's bearing and stage presence earned her the title "High Priestess of Soul". She was a piano player, singer, and performer, "separately and simultaneously". On stage, Simone moved from gospel to blues, jazz, and folk, to numbers with European classical styling, and Bach-style fugal counterpoint. She incorporated monologues and dialogues with the audience into the program, and often used silence as a musical element. Simone compared it to "mass hypnosis. I use it all the time". Throughout most of her life and recording career she was accompanied by percussionist Leopoldo Fleming and guitarist and musical director Al Schackman.

Simone had a reputation in the music industry for her volatility. In 1995, she shot and wounded her neighbor's son with a pneumatic pistol after his laughter disturbed her concentration. She also fired a gun at a record company executive whom she accused of stealing royalties. According to a biographer, Simone took medication for a condition from the mid-1960s on. All this was only known to a small group of intimates, and kept out of public view for many years, until the biography ''Break Down And Let It All Out'' written by Sylvia Hampton and David Nathan revealed this in 2004 after her death.

Legacy and influence

Music

Musicians who have cited Simone as important for their own musical upbringing include Antony and the Johnsons, Nick Cave, Van Morrison, Christina Aguilera, Elkie Brooks, Talib Kweli, Mos Def, Kanye West, Lena Horne, John Legend, Elizabeth Fraser, Cat Stevens, Anna Calvi, Peter Gabriel, Maynard James Keenan, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Mary J. Blige, Michael Gira, Angela McCluskey, Lauryn Hill, Patrice Babatunde, Alicia Keys, Ian MacKaye, Kerry Brothers, Jr. "Krucial", Amanda Palmer, Steve Adey and Jeff Buckley. John Lennon cited Simone's version of ''"I Put a Spell on You"'' as a source of inspiration for the Beatles song ''"Michelle"''. Musicians who have covered her work (or her specific renditions of songs) include Black Rock Coalition Orchestra, J.Viewz, Carola, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Marilyn Manson, Donny Hathaway, David Bowie, Elkie Brooks, Roberta Flack, Jeff Buckley, Kimbra, The Animals, Nick Cave, Shivaree (band), Ambrosia Parsley, Muse, Cat Power, Katie Melua, Timbaland, Feist, Shara Worden, Common, Lil Wayne, and Michael Bublé. Simone's music has been featured in soundtracks of various motion pictures and video games, including but not limited to, ''The Big Lebowski'' (1998), ''Point of No Return'' (AKA ''The Assassin'', 1993), ''Notting Hill'' (1999), ''Any Given Sunday'' (1999), ''The Thomas Crown Affair'' (1999), ''Six Feet Under'' (2001), ''The Dancer Upstairs (film)'' (2002), ''Before Sunset'' (2004), ''Cellular'' (2004), ''Inland Empire'' (2006), ''Sex and the City'' (2008), ''The World Unseen'' (2008), ''Revolutionary Road'' (2008), ''Watchmen'' (2009), ''The Saboteur'' (2009), ''Repo Men'' (2010). Frequently her music is used in remixes, commercials, and TV series including Feelin' Good featured prominently in the Season Four Promo of Six Feet Under, 2004.

Film

The documentary ''Nina Simone: La Legende'' (''The Legend'') was made in the 1990s by French filmmakers, based on her autobiography ''I Put A Spell On You''. It features live footage from different periods of her career, interviews with friends and family, various interviews with Simone then living in the Netherlands, and while on a trip to her birthplace. A portion of footage from ''The Legend'' was taken from an earlier 26-minute biographical documentary by Peter Rodis, released in 1969 and entitled simply, ''Nina''.

Her filmed 1976 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival is available on video courtesy of Eagle Rock Entertainment, and it is screened annually in New York City at an event called, "The Rise and Fall of Nina Simone: Montreux, 1976,", which is curated by Tom Blunt.

Plans for a Nina Simone biographical film were released at the end of 2005, to be based on Simone's autobiography ''I Put A Spell On You'' (1992) and to focus on her relationship in later life with her assistant, Clifton Henderson, who died in 2006. TV writer Cynthia Mort (''Will & Grace'', ''Roseanne'') is working on the script, and singer Mary J. Blige will play the lead role. Release of the movie is scheduled for 2012.

Her song "Sinnerman" was used in the 1999 film "The Thomas Crown Affair" as well as the award winning documentary "Sharkwater" by Rob Stewart in 2007.

Her song "I Got It Bad & That Ain't Good" was used in the 1998 film "The Big Lebowski"

Her music was used in the S4C show, "Alys", in 2010.

A song sung by Nina Simone on her 1970 live album, ''Black Gold'', is used in the film ''The Dancer Upstairs''.

In the film ''Point of No Return'', the protagonist choses "Nina" as her codename in honor of Simone, her mother's favorite musical artist as well as her own. Simone's music features prominently in the film.

The final scene of the film Before Sunset involves the protagonists discussing and playing a Nina Simone CD, with one of them singing along with "Just in Time" while imitating the performer's stage moves.

Honors

On Human Kindness Day 1974 in Washington, D.C., more than 10,000 people paid tribute to Nina Simone. Simone received two honorary degrees in music and humanities, from the University of Massachusetts and Malcolm X College. She preferred to be called "Dr. Nina Simone" after these honors were bestowed upon her. Only two days before her death, Simone was awarded an honorary degree by the Curtis Institute, the music school that had refused to admit her as a student at the beginning of her career. In 2010, Tryon, NC erected a statue in her honor along Trade street.

Discography

! Year	! Album	! Type	! Label	! Billboard
1958		Studio
	'' Nina Simone and Her Friends ''	Studio
'' The Amazing Nina Simone ''	Studio
'' Nina Simone at Town Hall ''	Live and studio
	'' Nina Simone at Newport ''	Live
	Studio
	'' Nina at the Village Gate ''	Live
'' Nina Simone Sings Ellington ''	Live
	'' Nina's Choice ''	Compilation
'' Nina Simone at Carnegie Hall ''	Live
	'' Folksy Nina ''	Live
'' Nina Simone in Concert ''	Live
'' Broadway-Blues-Ballads ''	Studio
		Studio
'' Pastel Blues ''	Studio
	'' Nina Simone with Strings ''	Studio (strings added)	Colpix
'' Let It All Out ''	Live and studio
	Studio
	'' High Priestess of Soul ''	Studio
'' Nina Simone Sings the Blues ''	Studio
'' Silk & Soul ''	Studio
1968	'' Nuff Said ''	Live and studio
	'' Nina Simone and Piano ''	Studio
	Studio
''A Very Rare Evening''	Live	PM Records
1970		Live	RCA Records
		Studio	RCA Records
''Gifted & Black''	Studio	Canyon Records
1972		Live and studio	RCA Records
	''Live at Berkeley''	Live	Stroud
''Gospel According to Nina Simone''	Live	Stroud
	'' It Is Finished ''	Live	RCA Records
''Sings Billie Holiday''	Live	Stroud
1978		Studio	CTI Records
1980	'' The Rising Sun Collection ''	Live	Enja
1982	'' Fodder on My Wings ''	Studio
1984	'' Backlash ''	Live	StarJazz
1985	'' Nina's Back ''	Studio
1985	'' Live & Kickin ''	Live
	'' Let It Be Me ''	Live
	Live	Hendring-Wadham
'' The Nina Simone Collection ''	Compilation	Deja Vu
1993	''A Single Woman''	Studio	Elektra Records
Additional releases
1975	''The Great Show Live in Paris''	Live	RCA?
1997	''Released''	Compilation	RCA Victor Europe
	''Gold''	Studio remastered	Universal/UCJ
''Anthology''	Compilation (from many labels)	RCA/BMG Heritage
2004	''Nina Simone's Finest Hour''	Compilation	Verve/Universal
	''The Soul of Nina Simone''	Compilation + DVD	RCA DualDisc
''Nina Simone Live at Montreux 1976''	DVD only	Eagle Eye Media
	''The Very Best of Nina Simone''	Compilation	Sony BMG
	Remix	Legacy/SBMG	5 (contemp.jazz)
''Songs to Sing: the Best of Nina Simone''	Compilation/Live Compilation	Deluxe
''Forever Young, Gifted, & Black: Songs of Freedom and Spirit''	Remix	RCA
2008	''To Be Free: The Nina Simone Story''	Compilation	Sony Legacy
2009	''The Definitive Rarities Collection - 50 Classic Cuts''	Compilation	Artwork Media
?	''Nina Simone Live''	DVD only: Studio 1961 & '62	Kultur/Creative Arts Television

References

Bibliography

External links

Main sites

Nina Simone discography at iMusic.am

Nina Simone in the Encyclopedia of Jazz Musicians

Nina Simone at Legacy Recordings

The Nina Simone Database – comprehensive Nina Simone website

L'hommage: Nina Simone – tribute and archival site

Reviews and other sites

Nina Simone at The Music Box – a collection of reviews

Eunice Waymon-Nina Simone Memorial Project North Carolina-based scholarship, statue & music festival

Nina Simone Biography at About.com

Obituary from ''The Daily Telegraph''

Nina Simone: The "Princess Noire" - audio report by ''NPR''

Category:1933 births Category:2003 deaths Category:American Methodists Category:African American female activists Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:African Americans' rights activists Category:American expatriates in France Category:American jazz pianists Category:American jazz singers Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American soul musicians Category:Cancer deaths in France Category:Charly Records artists Category:Deaths from breast cancer Category:Jazz songwriters Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Musicians from North Carolina Category:People from Polk County, North Carolina Category:People from Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:Soul-jazz musicians Category:Torch singers Category:Female jazz musicians

ar:نينا سيمون be:Ніна Сімон bg:Нина Симон ca:Nina Simone cs:Nina Simone cy:Nina Simone da:Nina Simone de:Nina Simone el:Νίνα Σιμόν es:Nina Simone eo:Nina Simone fa:نینا سیمون fr:Nina Simone gl:Nina Simone hr:Nina Simone io:Nina Simone id:Nina Simone it:Nina Simone he:נינה סימון ka:ნინა სიმონე lt:Nina Simone hu:Nina Simone ms:Nina Simone nl:Nina Simone ja:ニーナ・シモン no:Nina Simone pl:Nina Simone pt:Nina Simone ro:Nina Simone ru:Нина Симон scn:Nina Simone simple:Nina Simone sk:Nina Simone sr:Нина Симон fi:Nina Simone sv:Nina Simone tl:Nina Simone th:นิน่า ซิโมน tr:Nina Simone uk:Ніна Сімон ur:نیناسیمون yo:Nina Simone zh:妮娜·西蒙

Carolyn Cooper is a West Indian author, professor, and literary scholar. Carolyn Cooper's academic approach is grounded in critical theory.

Born in Jamaica, Dr. Cooper currently heads the department of Literary and Cultural Studies at the University of the West Indies, Mona Jamaica. For the past 26 years she has lectured at the University of the West Indies, Department of Literature in English.

In 1968 she was awarded the Jamaica Scholarship which three years later culminated with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in English (B.A. English). In 1972 she proceeded to the University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada to pursue her Masters Degree in English, which was followed by the completion of her Ph. D at the same institution.

Journals

Cooper, Carolyn J. Enslaved In Stereotypes: Race and Representation in Post-independence Jamaica

Cooper, Carolyn J. Punany Powah

Cooper, Carolyn J. 'West Indies plight': Louise Bennett and The Cultural Politics of Federation

Cooper, Carolyn J. Race and the cultural politics of self-representation: A View from the University of the West Indies

Cooper, Carolyn J. Lyrical Gun: Metaphor and Role Play in Jamaican Dancehall Culture

Cooper, Carolyn J. Ragamuffin sounds: Crossing over from reggae to rap and back

Cooper, Carolyn J. Loosely talking theory: Oral/Sexual Discourse in Jamaican Popular Culture

Awards

Association of Commonwealth Universities Academic Exchange Fellow, University of the South Pacific, Fiji, September - October, 1993

References

See also An Insight into Jamaican Music: Interview with Carolyn Cooper SX SALON (Small Axe).

Category:Jamaican non-fiction writers Category:Jamaican women writers Category:Jamaican academics Category:Literary critics Category:Cultural critics Category:Literature educators Category:University of the West Indies academics Category:University of Toronto alumni Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people

de:Carolyn Cooper