Jul 11-17, 2018
Cyanca, Made From Scratch festival, Demarco Matthews; Don’t Wait ‘Til It’s Cool, Chanel Nestor; Occupy ICE, immigration protests; 5 CLT kale dishes
Cover Story
Charlotte’s Hottest New R&B Singer Makes Her Big Debut at the Made From Scratch Music and Arts Festival
[Image-3] THE CHOICE WAS BETWEEN music and track. As a teen, Cyanca would rise at 4 a.m. so she could be on the field and ready to run by 5. Then she’d go to her classes. Then she’d be in band rehearsals. Then she’d be singing in the school choir. Then she’d be doing homework.…
Community Rallies in Support of Couple Targeted by Racist Ranter
Video shows man threatening couple, using N-word
Charlotte City Council Approves Hosting RNC by Thin Margin
As Ray McKinnon walked out of Monday’s specially called Charlotte City Council meeting on Monday, July 16, he was disappointed but not surprised that council members voted 6-5 to officially invite the Republican National Convention to Charlotte in 2020. McKinnon, co-founder of the local political organization New South Progressives, had led the movement calling for…
Sorry to Bother You: Worth the Hassle
SORRY TO BOTHER YOU *** (out of four) DIRECTED BY Boots Riley STARS LaKeith Stanfield, Tessa Thompson An outrageous and uncompromising assault on capitalism, consumerism, racism and other unpleasant -isms that have come to define these United States of America for all but the most myopic, ignorant or uncaring, Sorry to Bother You stars LaKeith…
‘Scuse me while I diss the Skyscraper
SKYSCRAPER ** (out of four) DIRECTED BY Rawson Marshall Thurber STARS Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell How impossibly charismatic is Dwayne Johnson? I wouldn’t go so far as to say I would watch him read a phone book, but an Archie comic or the back of a cereal box wouldn’t be out of the question. As…
Bull Durham, Lean on Pete, A Quiet Place among new home entertainment titles
(View From The Couch is a weekly column that reviews what’s new on Blu-ray, DVD and Streaming. Ratings are on a four-star scale.) BULL DURHAM (1988). Is Bull Durham the greatest sports movie ever made? The folks at Sports Illustrated think so, ranking it #1 on their list (the American Film Institute, meanwhile, has it…
Charlotte Residents Invited to Workshop Stage Play with Playwright Stacey Rose
The Danger: A Homage to Strange Fruit is a described by playwright Stacey Rose as a “sprawling piece of theater.” The piece is Rose’s thesis play from her time at New York University. It examines the legacy of white supremacist patriarchy and violence against black bodies through the eyes of ghosts lost in a dilapidated…
Listen Up: Styles&Complete Bring It Home on ‘Local Vibes’
We’ve reached the half-century mark, so we brought in the big guns straight from L.A. Up until 6 months ago, A. Styles and DJ Complete were a pair split between coasts. Early this year, Complete made the move out from CLT to Los Angeles to join the other half of his electronic hip-hop DJ duo,…
News of the Weird: You Bet Your Asgardia
Want to Get Away? Many citizens of the world are weary of the war and strife that seem to be consuming the news, and about 200,000 of them have already signed up to put it all in the rear-view mirror by becoming citizens of Asgardia. This coming-soon colony on the moon is led by Igor…
What’s a Party Writer to Do When She May Be Ready to Put Down the Drinks?
I’m ready to call it quits today. That’s what I was saying and have been saying every single time I’ve gotten super wasted over the past few months. We give writers credit for living the lifestyle, but we never want to actually talk about what it means to have your mind made up about certain…
Activist Groups Implement Different Styles Toward Same Cause in the Fight Over Immigration
During a muggy evening on Saturday, June 30, hundreds gathered around a stage at First Ward Park in uptown Charlotte while speakers addressed the crowd. On the fringes of the crowd, the scene looked more like a block party, with kids running through the splash pad as parents sat on cement blocks and looked on.…
There’s No Lack of Ways to Help in the Local Struggle for Immigrant Justice
At 4:15 p.m. on Monday, July 10, the mood was surprisingly upbeat in front of the Department of Homeland Security offices, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is headquartered on Tyvola Centre Drive in southwest Charlotte. Strewn about on the sidewalk where Occupy ICE protesters had been camping out for eight days were boxes…
Demarco Matthews Puts Together a Hip-Hop Fest ‘Made From Scratch’
[Image-2] THREE YEARS AGO, Demarco Matthews was living in Charlotte running the Showroom Gallery on North Tryon Street, where he held pop-up concerts, food events, art exhibits — all kinds of events designed to give a platform to local artists. But what Matthews really wanted to do was put on a big hip-hop festival to…
NC Always Founder Chanel Nestor Shines a Light on the State’s Hip-hop Photography
Charlotte Rapper Elevator Jay stares at the camera with suspicious eyes. His camouflage shirt contrasts with the white backdrop. A rope tied around his left hand goes behind his neck before leading to four fish strung up and anchored by his right hand. A towel hangs from his left pocket, implying that Jay’s fishing hobby…
Why the RNC Does Not Belong in CLT
I was there on September 21, 2016. I saw our local police and national guard suited up in militarized riot gear with my own eyes. I heard the bangs of stun grenades with my own ears. I smelled the tear gas with my own nose. I felt frozen in a brief moment of terror as…
