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https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-artists-need-to-know-2024/
Music industry vet Ray Daniels shares his tips for emerging Black artists and professionals.
There’s nothing more dangerous to America than a Black person who is equally as talented as an artist as they are in business. That’s something I’ve come to understand throughout my career. From sports to music, all white-dominated industries fear the intersection of raw talent and refined intelligence in Black figures. Where our culture is seen as a commodifiable source more than as our authentic stories, I’ve found it to be important for the future Jay-Z and Serena Williams’ of the next generation to understand more about how much power they can truly wield with the right strategy.
As someone who still has to work through feeling helpless for the folks in my community (especially the younger kids coming on the scene), I wanted to share some of the things I’ve learned that would help fellow Black brothers and sisters on the come up, maintain their power and help make the world a better place for others like us.
Money Buys You Time, But It Doesn’t Always Buy You Freedom
Black people aren’t afforded the same luxuries of grace to make mistakes and learn. That’s why we’ve adopted “Black Magic” over the years, pulling out tricks from our as*es for generations to prove what we can do with the smallest window available to prove it. Knowing this, it’s important to understand that without an internal set of rules and structure, you can fall into traps and contracts that have those immediate dollar signs but can snatch your long-term freedom just as quickly. Never lose sight of your values and your sense of self. I’m fair game. I believe in capitalism, but I also love my people. I believe in doing right and making money rather than making more money by doing wrong. We don’t have to sell our souls to get to success.
Investing in Your Community
You gotta be willing to make the sacrifices that will take you to the next level. For example, if you keep your eyes focused on that new car, those new threads, you’re missing the mark. Investing in the Black community really starts with investing in yourself, your health, [your] mental well-being, and [your] environment. Focusing on the things we can’t see first, learning to see your brain as an important investment. Feeling good before looking good is what creates a long-term success for yourself, which in turn, inspires others in the community to follow in your lead. That’s influencing at its finest. If you have to pay for a mentor or [for] information that will help you win, [it] is just as vital [as] using that gold chain/fancy car to attract attention. When you open your mouth and people see you’re more than just talent, [it] will give you the upper hand in any environment where your talents will be shown.
Owning Your Seat At The Table
In our world, if you have talent, then you’re gonna get in the room. If you have the knowledge to protect the talent, you are told or at least made to feel like you have to stay the f*ck away.
I used to feel like I was lucky to be in the room, thinking to myself, “Wow! They asked me a question.” But later, once I figured out that part, I spoke up more because when I was first welcomed in the room, I was just happy to be there. The same goes for you. If you’re in the room, it’s because they’re talking to an audience that listens from YOUR background, which means you have an understanding. Knowing your worth is important in these moments because it reminds you that you carry influence because of who you are. A lot of mistakes I see young artists make is when they sell themselves as an artist first when they should be selling themselves as influencers instead. Artists sell their music; influencers sell everything in them. You are more than the things you make, and it’s because of the voice behind the mic that people will come to listen.
These are just a few big things I remind myself of in today’s world when it can feel helpless to make it a better, more inclusive place where Black men and women have other Black men and women in the room with them when they’re making important decisions. We need to look after each other, and a way that we can help is by calling out each other’s blind spots. Even as Black people, we have different perspectives and different vantage points. Let’s use that to help spread information. Because, like I said before, there’s nothing more unstoppable than someone who knows they have talent and knows they have intelligence, too. The bottom line is we have to trust each other and trust ourselves. If someone is talking to us that means their is a value there, learn your value and build yourself and your people.
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When Warner Bros. approached Batman: The Animated Series co-creator Bruce Timm about doing a revival/continuation of the popular series, he wasn’t interested. But with J.J. Abrams (Star Wars: The Force Awakens) and Matt Reeves (The Batman) attached as executive producers, Timm and his producing partner James Tucker (Batman: The Brave and the Bold) came up with something completely different that blended film noir, Golden Age comics, classic horror films, and Universal monsters.
Timm has made it clear that the series is a “remix … not a remake or reboot” of BTAS, beginning with the setting. Previous depictions of Gotham City leaned into the grittiness and timeless, whimsical aesthetic (Gotham, Batman Returns). However, the overall design (wardrobe, architecture, lack of technology) of Caped Crusader is heavily inspired by the 1940s.
Set to composer Frederik Wiedmann’s (Batman: Hush, Batman: Gotham by Gaslight) haunting, epic score, the black-and-white opening title sequence is pure noir greatness. Some of the style and spirit of BTAS are there, enough that this take doesn’t feel radically different.
In Caped Crusader, Batman (Hamish Linklater) is a myth among Gotham City criminals and law enforcement alike. He’s not yet working with Commissioner Jim Gordon (Eric Morgan Stuart), and the GCPD see him as a menace, who isn’t so different from the masked criminals they come across.
Unlike many portrayals of Bruce Wayne, this series doesn’t focus on his humanity. He has an obsessive need to take out criminals that plague Gotham. Although he’s dealing with obvious repressed trauma that he refuses to confront, he doesn’t really dwell on the murder of his parents. He doesn’t treat Alfred (Jason Watkins) as a father figure. In fact, he calls him Pennyworth a lot of the time. He wears his billionaire playboy mask in public, mostly to keep up appearances but masquerading as a normal person also comes in handy when he’s investigating.
Batman’s rogues gallery is still populated by weirdos with a flair for the dramatic. Selina Kyle/Catwoman (Christina Ricci) is still flirty with Bruce and Batman, but she isn’t a broke antihero stealing to survive but a spoiled heiress addicted to luxury, jewels, and stray cats. Instead of her usual black leather catsuit, she throws together a getup more reminiscent of her Golden Age look — an impractical but stylish long purple dress with a high slit and green cape and heels.
Dr. Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn (Jamie Chung) isn’t a lovesick henchwoman for the Clown Prince of Crime. She’s an intelligent, upbeat psychiatrist who’s friends with defense attorney Barbara Gordon (Krystal Joy Brown). In reverse to her origins, she’s a villainess utilizing her expertise in psychology for a different kind of torture. Chung infuses Quinzel with a less manic Harley energy and gives her a hint of the accent.
A couple of episodes are dedicated to the deeply psychological exploration of the arrogant and ambitious Harvey Dent’s (Diedrich Bader) transformation into Two-Face. Other notable villains, though less recognized in mainstream media, include Firebug (Tom Kenny) (not to be confused with Firefly), Gentleman Ghost (Toby Stephens), Onomatopoeia (Reid Scott), and a young Natalia Knight/Nocturna (Mckenna Grace).
The show goes into the origin of Clayface (Dan Donohue) aka Basil Karlo, one of the first iterations of the villain. Instead of an oversized, shapeshifting mud monster, Karlo is a B-movie actor limited by his unfortunately ghoulish face. His episode is an exciting Hollywood-esque mystery investigated by Detective Renee Montoya (Michelle C. Bonilla).
While many, if not most, fans never want their favorite characters and storylines messed with, the new direction makes it exciting. We expect a certain trajectory for characters like Dr. Harleen Quinzel’s evolution into Harley Quinn and Selina Kyle’s dark romance with Bruce/Batman, stories that we’ve seen play out several times before.
Thanks to Season 1’s writer-producers — Ed Brubaker (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Greg Rucka (Harley Quinn), Jase Ricci (Merry Little Batman), Halley Wegryn Gross (Westworld), Adamma and Adanne Ebo (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), and Marc Bernardin (The Legend of Vox Machina) — the show strikes a tricky balance of keeping some familiar plot points and looks, while subverting expectations and not having their stories unfold exactly as they have before, adding a new element of fun and mystery.
The show is already being compared to X-Men ‘97 but it’s much less serialized. The ten episodes have a mostly self-contained, villain-of-the-week structure with narrative throughlines. It’s a relatively quick, 5-hour binge but you’ll want to watch it more than once.
Batman: Caped Crusader gave Bruce Timm a chance to create the Batman he always wanted without the limitations of appealing to a young audience. The result is a noir-infused visual treat that reimagines the familiar mythology in surprising and intriguing ways.
Batman: Caped Crusader premieres all 10 episodes August 1, 2024, on Prime Video.