Greg Tate
Encyclopedia
Greg Tate is an American author, focusing on African-American cultural theory and writing. He was acknowledged by The Source
magazine as one of the 'Godfathers of Hip-hop Journalism'.
An essayist and long time staff writer for The Village Voice
, Tate has published widely, with writings on art, music, and culture appearing in The New York Times
, Rolling Stone
, The Washington Post
, Spin
, Artforum
, The Nation
, and DownBeat
, and Africa-based magazines such as Glendora Review
and Chimurenga
.
The impact of Tate's writing lies in the seminal productive tensions he navigates between post-structural theory and black cultural nationalism; academia and street culture. Tate has been inspired by black innovators such as Miles Davis
, Jimi Hendrix
, Sly Stone
, George Clinton
and the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
. Furthermore, Tate has defied fixed notions about what constitutes authentic black culture, and has inscribed a new radical trajectory that is simultaneously rebellious yet intelligently written.
Now in his 50s, Tate continues to challenge cultural hegemony, writing on everything from hip-hop to YouTube
. His books include Flyboy in the Buttermilk, Midnight Lightning: Jimi Hendrix and the Black Experience and Everything But the Burden: What White People Are Taking from Black Culture. He is also a founding member of the Black Rock Coalition
and the conductor and music director of Burnt Sugar
, a band that fuses jazz, rock, funk, and African music in a lyrical, exploratory and improvisational manner.
In 2010 Tate won a United States Artists
Fellow award.
This article uses text from the Chimurengal Library under the GFDL
The Source (magazine)
The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...
magazine as one of the 'Godfathers of Hip-hop Journalism'.
An essayist and long time staff writer for The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, Tate has published widely, with writings on art, music, and culture appearing in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, Artforum
Artforum
Artforum is an international monthly magazine specializing in contemporary art.-Publication:The magazine is published ten times a year, September through May, along with an annual summer issue...
, The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
, and DownBeat
Downbeat
Downbeat, down beat or Down Beat may refer to:*Downbeat, the first beat of a measure in music. This terms originated from orchestral conducting, where the lowest point on the baton signals the first downbeat in a given measure...
, and Africa-based magazines such as Glendora Review
Glendora Review
The Glendora Review is a magazine that was conceived in an atmosphere of intellectual crisis, following the brain drain from Nigeria, during the Sani Abacha regime...
and Chimurenga
Chimurenga
Chimurenga is a Shona word for 'revolutionary struggle'. The word's modern interpretation has been extended to describe a struggle for human rights, political dignity and social justice, specifically used for the African insurrections against British colonial rule 1896–1897 and the guerrilla war...
.
The impact of Tate's writing lies in the seminal productive tensions he navigates between post-structural theory and black cultural nationalism; academia and street culture. Tate has been inspired by black innovators such as Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
, Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, Sly Stone
Sly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
, George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
and the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Jean-Michel Basquiat was an American artist. His career in art began as a graffiti artist in New York City in the late 1970s, and in the 1980s produced Neo-expressionist painting.-Early life:...
. Furthermore, Tate has defied fixed notions about what constitutes authentic black culture, and has inscribed a new radical trajectory that is simultaneously rebellious yet intelligently written.
Now in his 50s, Tate continues to challenge cultural hegemony, writing on everything from hip-hop to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
. His books include Flyboy in the Buttermilk, Midnight Lightning: Jimi Hendrix and the Black Experience and Everything But the Burden: What White People Are Taking from Black Culture. He is also a founding member of the Black Rock Coalition
Black Rock Coalition
The Black Rock Coalition is a New York-based artists' collective and non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the creative freedom and works of black musicians....
and the conductor and music director of Burnt Sugar
Burnt Sugar
Burnt Sugar, also known as Burnt Sugar, The Arkestra Chamber, is an American improvisational band. The band's music combines the influences of funk, jazz, rock, reggae, soul, hip hop, heavy metal, and 20th century classical music. It has been described by one critic as a...
, a band that fuses jazz, rock, funk, and African music in a lyrical, exploratory and improvisational manner.
In 2010 Tate won a United States Artists
United States Artists
United States Artists is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental philanthropic organization based in Los Angeles, California and dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists by the granting of cash awards, called USA Fellowships...
Fellow award.
External links
This article uses text from the Chimurengal Library under the GFDL