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June is Black Music Month/Crossroads 40th Anniversary Retro Revew · The K.B. Radio Network

0:02
Hello everyone and welcome to Movie Goodness where we examine life through cinema here on the KB Radio Network.
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I am your host Kevin Reed and June,
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yes it is June of 2026,
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man time is flying by.
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We are flying through 2026 and good because 2026 has been a dumpster Bye.
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It is horrible in 2026.
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Well,
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it's horrible for the last two years for obvious reasons,
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but it just seems to get worse and worse and worse.
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But we've arrived at June,
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and despite all of the stuff that is going on around us,
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wars and high prices,
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inflation,
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voters'
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rights being stripped away,
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and all that other good stuff that this government is...
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It's just,
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anyway,
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that's a whole nother show to discuss.
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But there is something to celebrate.
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There is something to kind of get our minds off of this dumpster fire that is called the United States of America.
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June is Black
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This is a celebration that happens every year.
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You know,
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June,
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we know that June has Juneteenth and all,
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which is great.
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But a lot of people don't know that the entire month is dedicated to black music.
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And,
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you know,
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I try every year here on the show to honor
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Black Music Month.
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And this year is no exception.
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We're going to honor Black Music Month.
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And we're going to have a film to review that goes along with our topic today being Black Music Month.
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A film that touched my soul.
1:58
40 years ago.
1:59
40 years
2:02
The film Crossroads.
2:05
That came out in 1986.
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No,
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not the,
2:08
I think,
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what,
2:09
early
2:10
2000s Britney Spears film,
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Crossroads.
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Not that.
2:15
We're not going there.
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The actual good one.
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Starring Ralph Macchio,
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who was fresh off of
2:23
The Karate Kid.
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He dove into this drama.
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man you want to talk about love this movie and this was the go-to film that i thought of this year just so happened to be the 40th anniversary of the release of that film and we're gonna go over that but before we review
2:46
or retro review that film let's go over black music month in the event that a lot of people don't know what black music money is but the united states have
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I've been celebrating Black Music Month in June since 1979,
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believe it or not.
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In the month of June,
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it was set aside to appreciate the contributions of black musicians,
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composers,
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singers,
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and songwriters in American culture.
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This month honors the history and rich African traditions that gave birth to different styles of music.
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We know them all.
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Which you could probably say all music.
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Every...
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Every genre of music has a black fingerprint on it.
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I don't care if you're talking about country,
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western,
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gospel,
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whatever it is.
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But the most common genres of music that a lot of people know that are affiliated with the black culture,
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rap,
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hip-hop,
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jazz,
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R&B,
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barbershop,
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swing.
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Yeah,
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all of that.
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But if you truly know the history of the black contribution to music.
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it's all genres of music rock and roll like i said before country now all that was pretty much started in the black communities now uh uh heavy metal i think that's all you i
4:12
think that's all uh uh somebody else i don't think black culture uh had a hand in creating heavy metal but it did we did have a hand in rock and roll which was
4:25
which is kind of an offshoot so i guess indirectly the blacks did but whatever y'all get what all i'm saying but this month is in particular it's celebrating the creative inspiration and appreciation the impact that
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black music has had on generations of performers and music lovers alike from tales of slavery and racism and fighting
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for just their basic human rights.
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to finding their heritage and value in their lyrics.
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Black music covers a vast range of topics that have great significance in this community.
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Over the years,
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we have seen black musicians reach some great height,
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not only on official music record charts,
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but also in entertainment award ceremonies.
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While President Jimmy Carter designated June as Black Music Month,
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back in 1979 it wasn't until the year 2000 when the presidential proclamation for the month was signed back in
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2009 president then president barack obama he went on to rename the month from black music month to his current name of african-american music appreciation month now the reason i don't go by that
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name
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I don't rock with the African-American label.
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That doesn't,
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you know,
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and I'm not mad at anybody who does.
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I just don't,
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me personally,
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because
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I'm not African.
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I'm not African.
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I'm black.
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I'm black.
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If black is on my birth certificate,
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I'm black.
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And so
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I don't go with the African-American thing.
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Plus,
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this is still that lingering fact that just...
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is seared in my head i can't get over the fact that and i know i'm going on a tangent off subject here but it's just i feel the need to explain myself the it's still the fact that an actress like sharice theron who
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is from africa who has american citizenship is considered an african American.
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So what similarities does me
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and Charlize Theron have zero we have absolutely none and so I don't
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I just don't I don't rock with the African-American label but like I said that's just me that's just me now getting back on subject here uh President Barack Obama he he highlighted the importance of this month and
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uh the various genres in black music
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This includes sacred music,
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which is one of the earliest black music forms in the United States that highlights gospel themes and black Christian values.
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He also highlighted blues and R&B,
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which relayed ideas of homeland and racial integration.
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Hip-hop,
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rock,
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and rap.
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It's...
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quickly becoming popular overseas as they appealed to young folks around the world.
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See,
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black music is not just music,
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but it's an integral part of American history.
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We all mentioned before,
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black musicians'
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efforts gave birth to a number of newer genres of music like jazz and rap.
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Throughout the last century,
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these genres have redefined American culture landscape.
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When people were...
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struggling as a nation like now the the music brought the entire generation together the music that uh emerged in the last few decades also became an a an essential part i would say of
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the civil rights movement the beats and sounds of these genres influence rock soul gospel bebop uh a boogie woogie.
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and other genres of music famous rock bands like the rolling stones and the beatles credit blues and jazz as major influences on their music in fact a lot of it this isn't shocking
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late breaking news i'm pretty sure everybody knows this but a lot of elvis presley songs were originally performed by black artists more recently genres such as funk motown and hip-hop
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have also been influenced by black performers who have introduced new dance and singing styles to the genre.
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Throughout the month of June,
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music lovers gather together to celebrate Black Music Appreciation Month.
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They celebrate the diversity,
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the inclusion,
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the community's impact in shaping cultural conversations in modern America.
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just go through the timeline of black music you know in america in the late
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1800s you had blues that spawned from racial and uh oppression you know blues was born from a racial oppression and the struggles of black people that they those struggles that they faced around that time and it told their story it was an outlet for them you
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know in the early
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1900s i say
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1930s when uh the apollo theater opened in harlem it instantly became a cultural hub for black music then you fast forward to the
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50s when uh marion alexander became the first black singer to perform at the new york metropolitan opera then in the 70s when you had stevie wonder who won a grammy he became the first black artist
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to win a grammy award for album of the year in 1982 when michael jackson released thriller and the album sold 66 million copies worldwide and still counting especially
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with the movie coming out it is still going strong thriller is just thrilling and then we fast forward to uh just a few years ago at night uh
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uh 2019 i should say when childish gambino or donald glover whatever you want to call him when he released the anthem this is america and it was a way uh to represent you know it was uh the realities of
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black folks and it became rap's first song to win song of the year at that year's grammy awards believe it or not so it's a given
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that black music no matter what the genre is makes an impact in every decade of this country this country is about to celebrate its 250th year and black
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music has been an essential part for 250 years it's it's amazing to really sit back and think about it you know where will we be
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without black music what would we be listening to right now bluegrass i don't know what what what would we be listening to bumping in our cars right now it is it's it's wow how
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far black music has reached and how much of an impact not just here in the united states but worldwide it's uh it's something to beat your chest on if you're black
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honestly man it feels good to know that we created something so impactful and it's just one little piece of the public puzzle because black people have made an impact in everything that we've been a part of and
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don't get the recognition for it unfortunately but let me give some facts about black music for black music month that you probably don't know
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Some of these I didn't know until I...
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until i was doing the research for it but here are five facts about black music month that will probably blow your mind number five uh which this is an easy one this is a softball one you i'm pretty sure you know this one james brown he came up with funk music in
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the last few years of the
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1950s he also would go on to become one of the most sampled artists of all time
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uh yes he's a pioneer or he was god rest his soul a pioneer of funk music number four kendrick lamar k dot kung fu kenny he won a pulitzer prize in
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2018 for his studio album damn he was the first pop musician and i use pop with heavy quotations but that's how they have it on the books
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uh to win a polisher and number three aretha franklin she was terrified of flying uh she was so scared of flying that she refused to attend her own rock and roll hall of fame induction ceremony because she would have had to get on a plane to
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get there uh number two billy jean made history.
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Not only was it on the most
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top-selling album of all time but michael jackson's billy jean
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was the first music video by a black artist to appear on mtv and i that's the one i did not know shockingly enough did not know that i thought and i had to go back and fact check and everything else because i thought i saw other artists
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before michael jackson's billy jean but no it is it is a fact this one really did blow my mind all the other ones i pretty much knew
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But that one blew my mind.
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But coming in at number one,
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which a lot of people don't know,
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I accidentally saw this when I saw a documentary about this young gentleman.
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And it's the late,
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great Tupac Shakur.
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Tupac took ballet classes as a student when he was at
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Baltimore School of Art.
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Tupac could dance.
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And I remember seeing him before.
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before he blew up as this cultural juggernaut in the rap game in the mid-90s.
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Even before he was in Digital Underground.
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But he was a background dancer for...
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Oh,
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my God.
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Who was he a background dancer for?
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I'm pretty sure somebody out there knows.
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But
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I remember seeing him as a dancer.
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Didn't know he took ballet,
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though.
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But...
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To say that somebody who gave us such classics as
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Hit Em Up and All Eyes On Me and
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Two of America's Most Wanted,
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Study Ballet.
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But those are your five facts about Black Music Month.
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They probably blew your mind.
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You probably already knew,
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but I just thought it would be fun to mention on the show.
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So let's get into the review.
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Let's get into...
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this cult classic of a film that is celebrating its
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40th year anniversary directed by walter hill who gave us
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48 hours the warriors um streets of fire he he also produced alien and aliens and so many other films back in the 80s he he is a uh accomplished
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director
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And he gave us this 1986 film that was inspired by the legendary blues singer
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Robert Johnson,
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Crossroads,
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which stars Ralph Macchio.
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As I mentioned before,
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he was the Karate Kid around his time,
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well,
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still is.
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He just had a Karate Kid movie,
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but everybody remembers him and loves him from the Karate Kid,
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which I like.
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But
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I always gravitated to this movie.
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He always stuck out in this movie just for being in this movie.
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This is one of my guilty pleasures,
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I guess you could say,
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even though
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I think this movie deserves a little more credit than what it got.
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Now,
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back then in 1987 or 86,
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it got positive reviews,
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but theatrically,
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it didn't make any money.
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Nobody went to go see it.
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you know who want to see a movie about a uh blues singer who sells his soul to the devil at the crossroads but i hate it it piqued my interest and now like i said this movie was inspired
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by the blues singer robert johnson if you don't know the story of robert johnson it was he's loosely based as well in the movie sinners
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a lot that takes place in that movie was inspired by the story of robert johnson and i know a lot about it because number one he's from mississippi uh around the delta there where my folks grew up and i
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i listened to blues because my dad was heavily into the blues you know listening to zz hill and all that i know about it but
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The story is,
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at least this legend about him is that emerged around the time he became famous,
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is that he made a deal with the devil at the crossroads in exchange for his musical ability.
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Now,
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according to the story,
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as a young man,
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he was living on this plantation in rural Mississippi.
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Johnson had a...
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I don't know,
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tremendous desire to become this great blues musician.
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And so one of the legends offered,
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often told,
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says that Johnson was instructed to take his guitar to a crossroad near
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Dickery Plantation at Mignot.
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Now,
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this is where.
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this is where my mind was blown as a young kid when i was younger my vacations no we didn't go to disneyland or disney world or six flags and you know sit sit up on the beach and sip my ties and stuff like that my
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vacations as a kid was to go visit my grandparents in mississippi in their hometown of cleveland mississippi to be exact and
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going up there driving up there and riding in the back and i'm just looking around and nothing just feels you know but we would pass up and i had to pass this plantation
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up every time we went to cleveland mississippi because it sits right there on the border of cleveland and uh what's that what's the other town i think rule room
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ruling a ruleville i can't remember the name of the other town but it sits right there in on the sunflower river which the sunflower river runs right in front of the plantation that my grandparents lived on and
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so i saw this plantation at least three times a year you know i i was there i i actually put eyes on it so
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being young and hearing these stories about that i'm like wait so every time we pass i'm passing the we gotta cross the crossroads to get there like so i didn't want to go so it got to the point i didn't want to go to miss after watching this movie and then after learning about this quote-unquote legend that
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took place with robert johnson but uh yeah this hits close to home to me but uh
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Back to the story,
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he was met by this large being.
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Never say that it was a man or nothing,
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but it was perceived to be the devil.
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And he took the guitar and tuned it up.
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And so the devil played a few songs and then returned the guitar to Robert Johnson,
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giving him mastery over the instrument.
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And in exchange for his soul,
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Johnson was able to create blues,
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for which he became famous.
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four i don't know if you were in the blues and you ever heard robert johnson play the guitar but oh my god i love guitar i love i love to hear artists who play guitar that's i guess that's why i'm a big prince guy and you know uh eric clapton and um
22:40
uh jimmy hendrickson you know you date all the great guitarists i gravitate to because i love guitar and what a guitar brings to a song it just brains
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for lack of a better term,
22:52
some soul to a song.
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Whatever track is being played and you hear a guitar in the background,
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whether it's an acoustic guitar,
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electric guitar,
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bass,
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whatever it is,
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it just adds a little something,
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something to a song.
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And to hear blues singers and blues musicians play that guitar,
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oh my God,
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it just...
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pierces your soul which is one of the reasons why i love this film so much because it's centered around uh guitar play and then when you get that duel at the end of this movie is even more uh satisfying to me but
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yeah delta man it's all set in the delta and going back to crossroads this film was shot in brula mississippi which is right next door to cleveland
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So once again,
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I knew this spot.
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I knew where this was filmed at.
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And so it just,
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I don't know,
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man,
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the connection is there.
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And so take all of this review with a grain of salt,
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because clearly there is some bias here.
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Clearly,
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you know,
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I really have a connection to this movie and to my heritage.
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You know,
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my family lineage is wrapped up in this movie,
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even though.
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none of my family appears in it but it's just the the the vibe the feel of that part of the country in in mississippi in the delta in it you can feel it if you sit down and watch crossroads in
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that tone in that atmosphere that you feel there the sweaty the humidity the everything about it that's it they captured that perfectly
24:48
in this film it that's how it feels up there and that's not a bad thing it's good
24:56
it's a good thing but anywho uh yeah ralph macchio you have uh joe seneca you have uh jimmy uh gets also in this film it's uh
25:10
it's a weird movie to kind of review today you know being as though it's black music month but the movie is centered around this white guy yeah this white guy 17 year old who's
25:23
just fascinated with blues music and he's studying classical guitar at juliet in new york and he's researching uh blues music blues guitar playing and he learns about this myth about
25:39
robert johnson and uh selling his soul and whatnot you know at the crossroads and so he's so enamored by this and he's looking for this missing song and
25:52
You know,
25:52
he gets in contact with Johnson's long-lost friend,
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Willie Brown,
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which is fact.
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This is a fact that he did have a friend named Willie Brown who was incarcerated for murder or attempted murder.
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And he's at this maximum,
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well,
26:13
minimum security hospital place.
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And so
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Eugene, he goes to see him and he denies.
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that he's willie brown and he finally admits that he is after hearing eugene play some blues and uh willie then he knows that uh willie johnson's not willie johnson's jesus robert johnson's uh
26:37
song missing song in question but refused to give it to him unless the boy breaks him out and they go to mississippi where he has some unfinished business days to settle and so
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Eugene,
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he agrees,
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and then they head south to Mississippi,
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and then the boy realizes that
26:59
Willie, he's running some game on them.
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You know,
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they have it all,
27:04
having not the best of starts of their friendship or relationship,
27:10
scamming him out of money and whatnot,
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but as they go on this road trip and encounter
27:20
different adventures along the way uh they go to juke joint and and they eventually meet up with a girl who's played by uh jimmy getz who is running
27:36
from her stepfather abusive stepfather and she's hitchhiking with him and uh her and eugene they start to have a relationship and she later Abandoned them both
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Uh He He He
27:50
to continue her little uh uh journey i guess you could say so eugene he's heartbroken at this time this is how he has deep feelings for the blues now he can really sing the blues and so at the same time uh willie
28:05
he had confessed that there is no missing song there's no missing robert johnson song and so eventually they do reach the crossroads and i believe it was filmed in the same spot.
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I think I remember this spot because my dad told me,
28:24
he pointed it out to me.
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Like,
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yeah,
28:26
they filmed that right,
28:28
you know,
28:28
when we were passing it one time.
28:30
And he was like,
28:30
yep,
28:31
this is the spot.
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This was the spot.
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And I was like,
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okay.
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And so they did eventually reach the crossroads where Willie reveals his secret,
28:41
his ability to play the harmonica.
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And because of the deal with the devil,
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which he had made.
28:49
in this very same location you know uh willie now hopes to end that deal so the devil he comes he he calls himself scratch and he shows up and insists that the contract with willie's soul is still valid even
29:06
if willie is dissatisfied with how his life turned out that that wasn't his look it is what it is the deal's the deal and so uh eugene Thank you.
29:18
He believes the other two are joking around.
29:22
He doesn't believe it's the devil.
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You know,
29:24
I mean,
29:26
who's going to believe?
29:27
Really?
29:28
Really?
29:28
Who's going to believe?
29:29
Okay,
29:29
the devil showed up here.
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Whatever.
29:31
So he's messing around,
29:33
and the devil offers a challenge.
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If Eugene can come at this special contest or concert,
29:41
I should say,
29:42
and win this guitar battle against his guitarist,
29:47
then Willie can get his soul back.
29:48
But if he loses,
29:51
then Eugene will forfeit his soul.
29:54
And so despite
29:55
Willie.
29:57
pleading with eugene don't do it he agrees with the deal and so willie and eugene they're transported to this music hall where the the metal blues guitarist uh jack butler that was his name jack butler who
30:16
also sold his soul for the musical ability he's he's wowing the crowd with his with his uh talent
30:24
And Eugene now understands the situation.
30:27
Now at this point,
30:28
it got real.
30:30
And so he receives a mojo bag from Willie.
30:33
And in case you don't know what a mojo bag is,
30:37
it's a lucky thing.
30:38
It's like a rabbit's foot.
30:40
But it's a mojo bag.
30:42
And he also slipped his slide on,
30:46
giving him a particular advantage against his opponent.
30:51
And so Eugene and Jack,
30:54
they...
30:54
they trade guitar parts and each were able to top the other eventually eugene if uh he falls back to his classical train and playing a fast and difficult piece that butler he just couldn't match it bro he was the
31:12
struggle was real with old uh jack butler and he lost and so butler drops the guitar and scruts off and the devil you
31:22
tears up Willie's contract and frees
31:25
Willie's soul.
31:27
So Willie and Eugene are transported back to Mississippi where they started walking again,
31:34
deciding to head back to Chicago to play together.
31:37
And Willie tells Eugene that after they stay in Chicago,
31:42
they must park ways,
31:43
you know,
31:43
must go out separate ways so
31:45
Eugene can go out and do his own music.
31:49
And that's where...
31:50
the movie ends this movie was awesome i i love this movie i love the performances by uh ralph macchio this is probably ralph macchio's best it's i
32:05
don't know if it's this one or the outsiders i love them in outsiders but this is real close to one of his best performances uh and ralph macchio is really good he's really underrated i think he got tight cast
32:20
in that daniel son vortex where you just he just couldn't break free you know he's still playing that role to this day he just couldn't break free but he is he is an awesome actor and this movie proves that this
32:36
movie had the feel of the mississippi delta through and through it was so authentic it just felt real to me and i guess
32:49
like i said is a little biased there not just because of the connections to my parents hometown and all this other stuff but the fact that i grew up listening to blues and around this time it's coincidentally around the time of the release of this movie and having a connection to blues music and seeing this movie and feeling
33:13
it you know it just to this day 40 years later
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still feels the same uh re-watching it for this show um when i jumped back into it it still holds up to me yeah it's a little dated and spot but nothing like you
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can tell this oh man this movie is old i mean you know the movie is old by the people who's in it but it just felt like this movie was made a couple of years ago or something like that it is not dated like that
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And I appreciate it so much because blues music isn't dated like that.
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I mean,
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you don't know if you're listening to a
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50-year-old song or a
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5-year-old song when it comes to blues.
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Because that's the way blues is structured.
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And
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I just love everything about this movie.
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It is truly a cult classic.
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It is one of my favorites,
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to be honest with you.
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Growing up,
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I remember watching this movie ad nauseam.
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Because when he...
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popped on hbo hbo act like they was going out of style and they played it back to back it was almost daily that crossroads came out and rightfully so because it is amazing crossroads from 1986 gets a letter grade of an a yeah i love this movie and if you haven't seen it seek
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it out if you seen it but it's been a minute
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go back and watch it it's one of those movies man it really brings up a lot of nostalgia uh especially if you're into blues music is it'll make you reconnect or that you was into blues music and not so much now it'll make you reconnect so it's one of those type of feels and
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so uh yes man it is black music month go out and celebrate black music bump it bump it in your cars whether is blues hip-hop rap.
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whatever the genre may be i mean man appreciate what you are getting from these black artists these songwriters and composers whoever it may be show some appreciation to them any way you can i would like to know what is your favorite genre of music is it blues is it r&b
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is it soul is it gospel is it uh uh i think i said r&b but funk music whatever it is what's your favorite
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genre music let me know email the show kbradiopodcast at gmail.com you can also search for the show on all social media platforms just search for the kb radio network also don't forget about youtube subscribe to the kb radio network channel and like this video if you don't mind don't forget about the five stars the reviews and sharing this show if you're listening on apple podcast spotify iheart radio wherever you are currently listening to
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movie
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goodness here on the kb radio network everybody thank you for joining me for this year's edition of black music month and the review of crossroads in its
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40th anniversary i want you all to know that i love you continue to love everyone and until we speak again you all be blessed