Creative Loafing Charlotte

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Top 10 things (plus a bonus) that are good for you now but will kill you in 20 years

Warning: Vegan diets may be hazardous to your health

• by Mark Kemp, Jeff Hahne, Ana McKenzie, Kimberly Lawson, Anita Overcash, and Emiene Wright
• Tags: Cover, froyo, Chick-fil-A, frozen yogurt, smartphones, iPhone, Blackberry, hot yoga, sanitizer, Maximum Overdrive, 3-D TV, joke rap, punk, nerd, electronics, satire, raw food, technical college, education, death, healthy, Tipalets, Chesterfield, Lucky Strikes, smoking, agave sweetener, bottled water, e-cigarettes, political conventions, Cover Story

The prodigal king Royal-Tee returns

Rapper returns to what he does best — making music for the common man

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Features, Royal-Tee, hip-hop in Charlotte, music in Charlotte, Alumni, Voice of Reason, Adè Adisa

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Music Issue 2012: Where's the black music in Charlotte?

A look inside the scene — from the artists and promoters to the venues and events

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Cover, black music in Charlotte, black music, soul, R&B, hip-hop, Elenora Fagan, Slow Motion Riot, Excelsior Club, Hi-Fi Club, Club Ballet, The Brickyard, Radio Rehab, Su Casa, Nathan Smalls, R&B Live, Carlton Hargro, Jasiatic, Mike Kitchen, Brandon Sutton, Ida Divine, Tyrus Washington, Tempo, Delta's, Poor Richard's, Venue 1801, Winston Gilley, Coretta Livingston, True Bloc Studio, Top 5 Carolinas, Vena S., Nikki Canada, Genuine Article, Makeda the Redd Fox, music in Charlotte, Emiene Wright, Cover Story

Cover Story

The Militant Dentist: Dr. Reginald Hawkins

Behind the pick and mirror, "Hawk" was Charlotte's most outspoken civil rights leader.

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Cover, Reginald Hawkins, civil rights, race relations, civil rights movement in Charlotte, Mel Watt, Stanford R. Brookshire, Frederick Douglas Alexander, Kelly Alexander, Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, James Ferguson II, integration, discrimination, Harding High, Emiene Wright, Cover Story

Prometheus Radio Project fans flames of a renaissance

Some say the need is greater than ever for community radio

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: News Feature, Prometheus Radio Project, community radio, Shannise Jackson, Jeff Rousset, low power FM, Bridget Sullivan, Voices from the Community

Wham, Bam, Thank You, Ma'am

Charlotte Roller Girls use strength and strategy to win

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: News Feature, Charlotte Roller Girls, skating, roller derby, Derby Prom, February, Queen CitY, Charlotte, athlete, sports, exercise, women, volunteer, workout, Emiene Wright

Cover Story

A legend comes to life in Fela!

Production offers inspiration through music, storytelling

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Cover, Fela Anikulapo Ransome-Kuti, Fela!, Fela Kuti, Broadway, musical, Gelan Lambert, Bill T. Jones, Afrobeat, Afrika Shrine, Tom Gabbard, Douglas Young, Blumenthal Performing Arts Center, arts in Charlotte, things to do, theater, Maija Garcia, Emiene Wright, Cover Story

Cover Story

Not just Black History: America I Am

Gantt Center exhibit expands the American narrative

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Cover story, Tavis Smiley, African American, black, history, Harvey Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, art, museum, exhibit, Doors of No Return, Democratic National Convention, National Constitution Center, Barack Obama, Raymond Ross, Ryan Schaub, America I Am, W.E.B. Du Bois, Fath Ruffins, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Cornel West, Howard Dodson, Schomburg Center, Thelma Golden, Studio Museum of Harlem, Carlton Farmer, Arts and Exhibitions International, David Taylor, Charlotte, Cover Story

Cover Story

Face the 'Nation': Louis Farrakhan

Hate yourself just a little for liking the leader of the Nation of Islam? Don't.

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Cover, Million Man March, Louis Farrakhan, Nation of Islam, Charlotte, Bojangles' Coliseum, Scientology, Jews, L. Ron Hubbard, Kurt Schmoke, Day of Atonement, Nathan Perlmutter, Nat Hentoff, Kaz Muhammad, Black Hitler, Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, hip-hop, Ishmael Muhammad, race, minority, diversity, Generation X, Yo! Bum Rush the Show, Wallace Fard, Cover Story

Oprah 'It Girl' chooses JCSU

Mpumi makes Charlotte her next big thing

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: News Feature, Nompumelelo "Mpumi" Nobiva, Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, Mpumi, Oprah Winfrey, Johnson C. Smith University

Top 10 albums of 2012

CL's critics offer their picks for the year's best music

• by Jeff Hahne, Mark Kemp, Rachel Bailey, Corbie Hill, Jordan Lawrence, Mike McCray, Pat Moran, John Schacht, Samir Shukla, Emiene Wright, Jeff Hahne, Mark Kemp, Rachel Bailey, Corbie Hill, Jordan Lawrence, Mike McCray, Pat Moran, John Schacht, Samir Shukla, and Emiene Wright
• Tags: Features, Gary Clark Jr., Blak and Blu, Reks, Straight, No Chaser, Swans, Seer, Sonoi, Tropics of Holland, Crystal Castles, III, Kendrick Lamar, Good Kid, MAAD City, The Men, Open Your Heart, Frank Ocean, Channel Orange, Wild Nothing, Nocturne, Mount Eerie, Ocean Roar, best album of 2012, music, year in review

Blowfly swears to tell the truth

His brain is stuck on the profane

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Features, Tremont Music Hall, The O'Getters, Blowfly, profane, music, concert, Charlotte, Clarence Reid, Black in the Sack, The Weird World of Blowfly, hip-hop, luchador mask, Betty Wright, Groove 8, Emiene Wright

Leela James at Tempo tonight (8/17/2012)

• by Emiene Wright
One of the few modern R&B singers who can legitimately hold a tune next to legends like Aretha Franklin
• Tags: Music Menu, Leela James, Charlotte, concert, music, Tempo, Angie Stone, Anthony Hamilton, newer Raphael Saadiq, Jill Scott, Jasmine Sullivan, Emiene Wright

Cover Story

An insider's guide to country cooking in the Q.C.

There's more to soul food in Charlotte than just Mert's

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Cover Story, Rudean's, Upscale Restaurant and Lounge, LaWan's Restaurant, Angie's Diner, food, soul food, Southern, cuisine, Charlotte, Yvonne Noble, Ty Noble, collard greens, Fantasia Barrino, La'Wan Adams, Kenneth Adams, Angelina Smith, Mecklenburg County Commissioner, Vilma Leake, Tammie Green, Tyrus Thomas, Charlotte Bobcats, Carrie II: The Rage, Days of Thunder, Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, Cover Story

Cool beans: Does Charlotte have a coffee culture scene?

Supporters say it's a few years off

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Features, Not Just Coffee, Rush Espresso, Central Coffee Co., coffee, Charlotte, Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Paul McConachy, Jenny McConachy, James Yoder, Joe Van Gogh's Amaro Gayo, John Michael Cord, Smelly Cat Coffee, Mugs, Fabo Cafe

Live review: Coors Light's Search for the Coldest MC, The Fillmore, 6/30/2012

• by Emiene Wright
Local MCs battle while a few big names steal the show.
• Tags: Live Reviews, Coor's Light, Search for the Coldest MC, Ice Cube, Felony Fame, The Fillmore, Charlotte, music, hip-hop, rap, Bun B., Big K.R.I.T., Eddie Blaze

3 questions with Izzat Freitekh, owner of La Shish Kebob

Middle Eastern eatery drills for deep flavors

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Three-Course Spiel, La Shish Kebob, Izzat Freitekh, Middle Eastern food, interview, lamb, chicken shwarma

CD Review: David Banner's Sex, Drugs and Videogames

LiveMixtapes.com; Release: 5/22/2012

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: CD Review, David Banner, mixtape, CD, album, review, Sex, Drugs and Videogames, Death of a Popstar, music, K.R.I.T., Midnight Marauders, rap, hip-hop

Awaken your taste buds to the world of fusion

Dwayne Chandler offers savory and sweet through his food truck Lilly Macks

• by Emiene Wright
• Tags: Features, fusion in Charlotte, Dwayne Chandler, Lilly Macks food truck, Fu Lin, Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, burgushi, Emiene Wright, Fu Lin Asian Cuisine Indo Chinese Fusion, The Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar

Live review: Kendrick Lamar, The Fillmore (9/11/2012)

• by Emiene Wright
Rapper nearly gets upstaged twice.
• Tags: Photos, Live Reviews, setlist, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, The Fillmore, Ab-Soul, Charlotte, music, concert, Live reviews, setlist, photos