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We’re ending Black Music Month on a high note by honoring the 45^th anniversary of the BE 100s with a commemorative Spotify playlist compilation. Every song on this playlist of 45 tracks was produced by a record label once featured on our prestigious listing of the top black-owned businesses in the nation. Our 2017 list will be live soon.

Whether you prefer to “get your groove on” or “drop it like it’s hot,” gather up your crew for a Soul Train Line, because these classic hip-hop and R&B melodies will surely  make you want to, as Teddy Pendergrass says, “Get up, get down, get funky, get loose!”

Songs From Motown:

Founded in 1959 by Berry Gordon, Jr.

• “I Want You Back,” performed by The Jackson 5
• “Got to Be There,” performed by Michael Jackson
• “The Way You Do the Things You Do,”  performed by The Temptations
• “I Hear a Symphony,” performed by The Supremes
• “The Tears of a Clown,” performed by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
• “What’s Goin’ On,” by Marvin Gaye
• “Got to Give it Up (Part 1),” by Marvin Gaye
• “Isn’t She Lovely,” by Stevie Wonder
• “Uptight,” by Stevie Wonder

Songs From Philadelphia International Records:

Founded in 1971 by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff.

• “Get Up, Get Down, Get Funky, Get Loose,” by Teddy Pendergrass
• “Love Train,” performed by the O’ Jays
• “When Will I See You Again,” performed by The Three Degrees
• “Me and Mrs. Jones,” by Billy Paul
• “If You Only Knew,” by Patti LaBelle

From Stax Records:

Founded in 1957 by Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton.

• “I’ve Been Loving You,” by Otis Redding
• “ Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song),” by Otis Redding
• “Try a Little Tenderness,” by Otis Redding
• “Sittin on the Dock of the Bay,”  by Otis Redding
• “Theme from Shaft,” by Isaac Hayes
• “Hung Up on my Baby,” by Isaac Hayes
• “Hyperbolicsyllabicsesquedalymistic,” by Isaac Hayes
• “I’ll Take You There,” performed by The Staple Singers
• “Everyday People,” performed by The Staple Singers
• “The Weight,”  performed by The Staple Singers
• “Heavy Makes You Happy (Sha-Na-Boom Boom),” performed by The Staple Singers

Songs From Sussex Records:

Founded in 1969 by Clarence Avant.

• “Lean on Me,” by Bill Withers
• “Use Me,” by Bill Withers
• “Ain’t no Sunshine,” by Bill Withers
• “If It Ain’t Funky,” by Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers
• “We the People,” by Chuck Brown and The Soul Searchers

Songs From SOLAR Records:

Founded in 1975 by Dick Griffey and Don Cornelius.

• “Fantastic Voyage,” performed by Lakeside
• “Mary Mack,” performed by Babyface
• “My Kinda Girl,” performed by Babyface
• “Dancing in the Sheets,” performed by Shalamar
• “Rock Steady,” performed by The Whispers
• “No Parking (On the Dance Floor),” performed by Midnight Star

Songs From Def Jam Recordings:

Founded in 1983 by Russell Simmons and Rick Rubin. 

• “This Is How We Do It,” performed by Montell Jordan
• “Mama Said Knock You Out,” by LL Cool J
• “Rock the Bells,” by LL Cool J
• “Fight the Power,” by Public Enemy
• “Bring the Noise,” by Public Enemy
• “I’ll Be,” performed by Foxy Brown featuring Jay-Z

Songs From No Limit Records

Founded in 1990 by Percy “Master P” Miller.

• “Wobble Wobble,” performed by the 504 Boyz
• “Lay Low,” by Snoop Dogg, featuring Nate Dogg, Butch Cassidy, Tha Eastsidaz, and Master P
• “My Baby,” performed by Lil’ Romeo

The actress is leaving her mark on the 2017 ESSENCE Fest in standout styles.

Today is the 25th anniversary of A League Of Their Own, so I illustrated a mash-up (baseball cards in the link!): https://t.co/xFr3lR8l8r pic.twitter.com/LSD56TG1B0

— Kate Willært (@katewillaert) July 1, 2017

Illustrator Kate Willært created some amazing mash-ups of the Justice League and the 1992 movie A League of Their Own for HalloweenCostumes.com.

You can see baseball cards for the individual players, including Dottie “Wonder Woman” Hinson and Doris “Batwoman” Murphy, at HalloweenCostumes.com. Willært’s reimagining also improves on the original film by including Mamie “Cyborg” Johnson, a mashup of the Justice League’s Cyborg and Mamie “Peanut” Johnson, a black woman pitcher who tried out for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League but was turned down because of her race. (via Nerdist)

And if this art made you think of DC Comics’ Bombshells series, there’s a reason…

people don’t realize how much i do out of a spite until you realize bombshells was a 12-issue set up to a “justice league of their own” pun

— Marguerite Bennett (@EvilMarguerite) September 20, 2016

• The Beat has some Canadian small press and indie comics to recommend for Canada Day! The nation-state of Canada turns 150 today, though the First Nations have been around for much, much longer.
• Fox has scheduled several more release dates for as-yet-unannounced, Marvel-based movies. Your guesses are as good as mine. (via Deadline)
• This was a big week for Star Wars paraphernalia sold at auction. Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber (used by Mark Hamill in both A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back) sold for $450,000, while an original R2-D2 unit sold for nearly $3 million.  (via The Hollywood Reporter)
• After the new season of The X-Files took some much-deserved heat for its all-male writers’ room, Buzzfeed reporter Susan Cheng asked a woman from the original series’ writers’ room for insights. Kim Newton, who wrote for the show from 1995 to 1996, described a team that consisted of experienced male writers, who had job stability, and a rotating cast of new, young female writers who rarely stayed on for more than a year. She also said, “I don’t know whether [X-Files creator] Chris [Carter] has ever felt comfortable in his approach to dealing with female writers.” It’s a fascinating read that gets at the uncomfortably unspoken ways that sexism plays out in television. (Buzzfeed)

(Featured image via HalloweenCostumes.com)

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In 2009, the Asian American ComiCon was held in New York City, bringing together Asian indie and mainstream comics creators for a historic gathering to celebrate the unique and flourishing graphic storytelling of our community. Now, eight years later, AACC is hosting its second event: a Summit on Art, Action and the Future. In a time where diversity and creativity are both under attack, the Summit will feature diverse creators talking about where we’re going next.

Featuring established and emerging voices like Phil Yu (Angry Asian Man, They Call Us Bruce), Jeff Yang (CNN, They Call Us Bruce), Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex), LaToya Morgan (writer, Into the Badlands), Lewis Tan (Marvel’s Iron Fist), Keith Chow (The Nerds of Color) and a special keynote conversation with George Takei!

The summit will also see the WORLD PREMIERE UNVEILING of NEW FRONTIERS, a brand new graphic anthology of original stories by Asian, black, Hispanic and Native American; lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans creators, telling original stories inspired by George Takei’s life and legacy about incarceration and exclusion, representation and resistance, the digital world and the struggle in the streets. All-day events will include an Artists Alley where leading comics creators, such as MariNaomi and Martin Hsu, will be available for commissions and signings!

RSVP to the event on Facebook. Tickets are available for purchase here (and receive a discount by getting your tickets in advance!)

Date and Time
Saturday, July 15, 2017
12:00 PM – 5:00 PM PDT

Location
Japanese American National Museum
100 North Central Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012

For more information about the AACC Summit or the New Frontiers graphic novel anthology, contact Jeff Yang at jeff@secretidentities.org or Keith Chow at keith@secretidentities.org.