End of the Earth, One Night in Miami, and M Archives
Featuring a podcast interview with Lundon Avery.
Welcome to the thirty-seventh installation of The Q : your one-stop weekly newsletter of culture recommendations.
BEFORE YOU CONTINUE….As The Q expands, we are looking for more people to join our wonderful team! If you are interested, please check out the slide deck below detailing the various roles and experiences open for applications.
Album
End of the Earth by MAVI
I remember it very clearly when MAVI’s first project Let the Sun Talk was released. My friends were blasting it from the speaker in the tiny dorm room that we all called home. After that first listen, the dense and earthly feeling of the album follows you everywhere. Similarly, MAVI’s most recent release, End of the Earth, carries that same powerful feeling. It provides a lens into a whole different universe.
Film
One Night in Miami directed by Regina King
If I had to analogize my experience with One Night in Miami to a night at the bar, then Regina King is the bartender, I am the drinker, and the movie is a cocktail of intimacy, nostalgia, and soul-searching with a garnish of charisma to boot. King’s fictionalized account of the events that took place on the celebratory night of February 25, 1964 — the night that Cassius Clay (Eli Goree) spent with friends Malcolm X (Kingsley Ben-Adir), Sam Cooke (Leslie Odom Jr.) and Jim Brown (Aldis Hodge) after the first of his career-shaping bouts against Sonny Liston guided me to a place of symmetry with my college, dorm-room style conversations.
Book
M Archive: After the End of the World by Alexis Pauline Gumbs
There has been numerous works published speculating about the future and the eventual end of the world. For the most part, it’s all the same. It’s always a fear of technology, of ecological collapse, of AI, or some combination of them. It’s always about what it would look like for rich white people. Speculative fiction has become a predictable, formulaic genre. But, Alexis Pauline Gumbs’ M Archive helped me reimagine what the genre of speculative fiction and apocalyptic writing could be, and this work of art is anything but boring.
Playlist
Thomas’ “COVID congeniality “ features Mick Jenkins, TTNG, and Mob Rich
Thomas’ favorite track:“COVID congeniality“ by Erykah Badu
Description: “I started this playlist while I was beginning to get over COVID, because I was feeling optimistic for February, warmer weather, more vaccines, and more freedom. The songs are upbeat or make me feel good!”
Podcast
Episode #37: Horchata and an Interview with Lundon Avery
On this week's episode, Teresa and Sam talk to Lundon Avery over a glass of Horchata. Lundon Avery is an artist from Peoria, Illinois who has now relocated to New York City after signing a distribution deal with UnitedMasters. Lundon released his first song of the partnership entitled “Intro” on November 20, 2020 as the lead single to his upcoming self-titled album Lundon Avery. He has been featured on the Fresh Finds Editorial playlist, ESPN X-Games social sync, and during the Lakers vs. Pelicans game. Lundon talks to Teresa and Sam about shifting from being a producer to his own artist, being a multi-instrumentalist, and his inspirations for his upcoming album.
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