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Hip hop

The Backstory of an Underground Classic in Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth

February 18, 2021 by Zach Schonfeld

 

“The first book ever written about 24-Carat Black”

I’ve been a professional music journalist for eight years, but I’ve been fascinated by sampling in hip-hop–that is, the technique by which music producers use fragments of preexisting recordings, such as a drumbeat or vocal hook–for much longer. As a teenager, I was blown away when I heard a Curtis Mayfield track in the wild and realized I recognized it from a Beastie Boys album, or when I recognized a Frank Zappa deep cut that had been sampled by Madvillain. For me, sampling has been an unlikely vehicle of music discovery. I’ve fallen in love with albums both classic (Sly and the Family Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On) and obscure (Funk Factory’s self-titled 1975 gem) after hearing them sampled in hip-hop.

It was sampling that got me interested in 24-Carat Black, a relatively obscure ’70s funk group whose music echoes throughout hip-hop nearly 50 year later. Briefly signed to the legendary Stax Records, 24-Carat Black completed just one album, a brooding, ambitious 1973 concept album titled Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth, before disbanding and sinking into obscurity. Yet over the last few decades, their music has become a near-ubiquitous sample source for rappers and producers. 24-Carat Black’s evocative grooves and hooks have been sampled by rap legends like Nas, JAY-Z, Eric B. & Rakim, and even Kendrick Lamar, on his Pulitzer Prize-winning 2017 album DAMN. 

In 2018, when Kanye West sampled the group on Pusha T’s album Daytona, I began tracking down surviving members of 24-Carat Black and investigating their unusual story. I was fascinated by the odd discrepancy between the band’s cultural endurance and their lack of name recognition, and I was riveted by the remarkable stories the band members told me about their brief rise and fall under the direction of Stax arranger Dale Warren, who composed their music. Most of all, I was struck by the reality that the surviving musicians have never been able to receive royalties from the continual samples of their music; some of them are still living in poverty, a brutal irony given that inner-city poverty was the primary theme of 24-Carat Black’s only completed album.

My new book, Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth (Bloomsbury, 2020), recounts the album’s backstory as well as tracing its rebirth as an underground classic in the ’90s rap community. It’s the first book ever written about 24-Carat Black, rooted in hours of interviews with the original musicians. (The book is part of the 33 ⅓ series, in which each volume focuses on one classic album.) It is my sincere hope that the book will help bring some long-denied recognition and justice to 24-Carat Black, and pierce some of the mysteries that have shrouded this unusual masterpiece for 48 years.

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: author, funk, Ghetto: Misfortune's Wealth, Hip hop, rap, Zach Schonfeld

FREE DANCE CLASSES, 1/7-1/12 at Steffi Nossen

December 18, 2012 by The Inside Press

The Steffi Nossen School of Dance (SNSD) invites the Westchester community to participate in all dance classes free of charge during its Week of Dance series taking place from January 7 – January 12, 2013.

With two dance studio locations in central Westchester County; one in White Plains (at the Music Conservatory of Westchester across from County Center) and the other in Chappaqua, SNSD offers classes that appeal to the diverse interests of dance students of all levels. . The school’s Core Curriculum of modern dance classes are designed for children, preschool through third grade. Accompanied by live music, these classes are designed to encourage participation and enthusiasm among students. These classes are followed by a fourth and fifth grade Modern/Jazz and sixth grade and up Jazz classes which introduce and explore the rhythm, styles and music of the Jazz idiom. SNSD technique programs include Modern, Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Hip Hop, and a Young Children’s Ballet program beginning with Classical Story Ballet at age 3.

The Steffi Nossen curriculum develops both technique and creativity while emphasizing movement and dance vocabulary.  “Our program emphasizes the development of a child’s emotions, mind, and creativity as well as physical ability,” said Kathy Fitzgerald, School Director, SNSD. “Our faculty collaborates on the design of a sequential, developmental and age-appropriate curriculum that exposing students to a variety of dance styles and provides the students with many performance opportunities. Our faculty members are highly skilled performing professionals and graduates of prestigious college dance programs whose own dance experiences direct and inform their teaching methods.

All classes offered during the Week of Dance series are available on a trial-basis to the public at no charge. For more information please visit www.steffinossen.org or call 914-328-1900.

Steffi Nossen School of Dance is located at Central Studios at the Music Conservatory of Westchester, 216 Central Avenue, White Plains, NY 10601. Chappaqua classes are held at the Church of St. Mary the Virgin on S. Greeley Avenue between Bell School and the Library. To learn more about Steffi Nossen School of Dance, please visit www.steffinossen.org.

About Steffi Nossen School of Dance:

Founded in 1937 by dance legend Steffi Nossen, the Steffi Nossen School of Dance offers a strong community-minded and leadership-focused educational model with developmentally appropriate dance instruction and performance opportunities for all ages and abilities. With locations in White Plains, NY and Chappaqua, NY, Steffi Nossen encompasses a range of dance forms including modern, ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, and world dance forms with special offerings in yoga, pilates and composition. Live musical accompaniment for a majority of classes is offered. The school is owned and operated by the Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation, formerly the Dance in Education Fund, a not-for-profit dance advocacy and community outreach organization, which seeks to foster the arts in Westchester County. Through the support of the Foundation, the school enables all students, including those with special needs, the opportunity to participate in their extensive programs and classes in a non-competitive environment. A generous financial aid and scholarship program supports those with significant economic challenges. With a sterling reputation in the industry and a rich 75-year history, Steffi Nossen is a leader among dance schools, focusing on the growth of students’ mind, body, spirit, and character.

Filed Under: Sponsor News! Tagged With: ballet, Dance, Hip hop, Jazz

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