Art Matters: The Nelson George Interview

Gaslit Nation is recharging our batteries for the big election ahead so we're re-running a popular episode this week: Andrea's interview with her longtime friend and mentor, the journalist, filmmaker, and author Nelson George. Exclusively for our Patreon community we're publishing an all new bonus show this Saturday on how to stop MAGA. To our supporters at the Democracy Defender level and higher, submit your questions for our Q&A in the comments below or in a private message -- we always love hearing from you! Our Q&A will be out later this month! Thank you to everyone who supports the show -- we could not make Gaslit Nation without you!     Nelson George set off to become the greatest music writer in the world. In this surreal essay, he explains his strange relationship with Prince who summoned him to listen to new music; this confirms George's dream was achieved. Having come out of the projects in Brooklyn to contribute to the bohemian renaissance of Spike Lee turning Brooklyn into a global brand, George lived the explosion of Black culture across film, music, art, and more at the close of the 20th century and looks back at this groundbreaking time in a sweeping and important discussion of why art matters.     This is an interview about artists -- it’s for people who want to be artists -- it’s for artists at all stages of their careers -- it’s for people who love and consume art -- it’s a discussion about the value of mentorship -- and the way to get to the heart of being an artist, why that’s important, what that means, the practical ins and outs of how to do it.     From the biography on his website: "Nelson George is the author of several histories of African American music, including Where Did Our Love Go: the Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound, The Death of Rhythm & Blues, and the classic Hip Hop America. He has published two collections of music journalism: Buppies, BBoys, Baps & Bohos: Notes on Post-Soul America and the recent The Nelson George Mixtape, which is available through Pacific Books. He has written several novels with music themes (The Accidental Hunter, The Plot Against Hip Hop, The Lost Treasures of R&B, and To Funk and Die in LA). In television, George was a producer on the Emmy Award winning The Chris Rock Show on HBO, a producer on Hip Hop Honors on VH1, and executive producer of the American Gangster crime series on BET. As a filmmaker, George has co-written the screenplays to Strictly Business and CB4. He directed Queen Latifah to a Golden Globe in the HBO film Life Support, which he also co-wrote. He has directed a number of documentaries including Finding the Funk, The Announcement, and Brooklyn Boheme (Showtime). George was a producer on the award winning documentary on Black music executive Clarence Avant, The Black Godfather, for Netflix. His theatrical documentary on ballerina Misty Copeland is called A Ballerina's Tale. He was a writer/producer on Baz Lurhmann’s hip hop inspired Netflix series The Get Down. He is an executive producer of Dear Mama, a documentary series about Tupac Shakur directed by Allen Hughes." And, to add to this illustrious biography, Nelson has been a longtime friend and mentor who helped Andrea navigate the wily world of getting Mr. Jones written and produced.     Fight for your mind! To get inspired to make art and bring your projects across the finish line, join us for the Gaslit Nation LIVE Make Art Workshop on April 11 at 7pm EST – be sure to be subscribed at the Truth-teller level or higher to get your ticket to the event!     Join the conversation with a community of listeners at Patreon.com/Gaslit and get bonus shows, all episodes ad free, submit questions to our regular Q&As, get exclusive invites to live events, and more!     Check out our new merch! Get your “F*ck Putin” t-shirt or mug today! https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/57796740-f-ck-putin?store_id=3129329

This content originally appeared on Gaslit Nation and was authored by Andrea Chalupa.