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Nadir Omowale

The Pre-Criminalization of Black Boys

In this article from Black Voices, Jeff Mays states that it’s tough to be a black boy in Nashville, Tennessee. I would argue that it’s tough for black boys all over. These problems aren’t exclusive to Nashville, and it doesn’t get better as those boys grow into men. If anything it gets worse.

According to Mays, “nationally, black kids are suspended three times more often than whites.”

The treatment some black males receive in school only conditions them to future stigmatization and negative behaviors. The practice of treating black male students more harshly for behavioral problems is the first step for the school-to-prison pipeline, the trend of dealing with our children as criminals as opposed to the still-developing, potential-filled young people that they are.

Behavioral problems among young boys are real. As hormones begin to explode, and whatever environmental concerns erupt, kids exhibit all kinds of strange behavior.

But how much of this suspension issue is based on teachers’ and administrators’ perception of black boys as problem children? Continue reading

The Pre-Criminalization of Black Boys

In this article from Black Voices, Jeff Mays states that it’s tough to be a black boy in Nashville, Tennessee. I would argue that it’s tough for black boys all over. These problems aren’t exclusive to Nashville, and it doesn’t get better as those boys grow into men. If anything it gets worse.

According to Mays, “nationally, black kids are suspended three times more often than whites.”

The treatment some black males receive in school only conditions them to future stigmatization and negative behaviors. The practice of treating black male students more harshly for behavioral problems is the first step for the school-to-prison pipeline, the trend of dealing with our children as criminals as opposed to the still-developing, potential-filled young people that they are.

Behavioral problems among young boys are real. As hormones begin to explode, and whatever environmental concerns erupt, kids exhibit all kinds of strange behavior.

But how much of this suspension issue is based on teachers’ and administrators’ perception of black boys as problem children? Continue reading

Nashville Underwater and Forgotten

The national media was late covering the recent flooding in Nashville.

It wasn’t until the photos started popping up on Facebook, and until I started receiving messages from friends there that I realized the damage.

Because the national news was MIA, Nashvillians were forced to use the Internet to show the world what was happening.

Continue reading

Nadir on KISS KISS BANG BANG I.S.P.Y.

Nadir was featured in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (KKBB), a specialty newsletter for the alternative music community produced by UNCLE Promotions in California. It includes weekly airplay charts, interviews with alternative radio and record company personalities, and other content geared toward the alternative music community.

A very big thanks goes to our good friend Jane Asher at RadioSophie 103.7 in San Diego for spreading the word in KKBB’s I.S.P.Y. feature. Jane says:

Nadir Omowale embodies the spirit of music. He is a singer, songwriter, producer and social activist. His latest album, “Workin’ for the Man,” is filled with soul-shredding funk and offers an amazing version of Terence Trent D’Arby’s (now known as Sananda Maitreya) “Sign Your Name.” Nadir was just awarded Outstanding Urban Funk Vocalist at the 2010 Detroit Music Awards on April 16th. If Motown had never moved to L.A., this is what it would sound like today.

Coolness! Click HERE to check out the whole Kiss Kiss Bang Bang newsletter.

Nashville Underwater and Forgotten

The national media was late covering the recent flooding in Nashville.

It wasn’t until the photos started popping up on Facebook, and until I started receiving messages from friends there that I realized the damage.

Because the national news was MIA, Nashvillians were forced to use the Internet to show the world what was happening.

Continue reading

MusickHead Interview: Nadir Omowale

Detroit writer Dina Peace’s blog Musickhead is “for those special people who love to blow the dust off of forgotten. obscure or underground hits.” Check out our interview:

With the discerning eye of a journalist and the soul of a rock and roll musician, Detroit-based funk disciple Nadir Omowale has made a career of speaking his mind on what is affecting the world and its inhabitants that range from matters of the heart, economics and yes, politics.   Omowale, whose first name is Jonah, encounters a whale of an issue allegorical to the narrative of his famous Biblical namesake with his new musick video, “Guantanamo”.

Read the interview HERE

Cincy Groove Magazine Interview with Nadir

Around the end of August I played a Friends for Chris Walker benefit in Cincinnati, and we did an interview with Cincy Groove Magazine, a webzine that covers all the musical happenings in and around Cincinnati.

In the interview, Cincy Groove publisher, Scott Preston and I talk about Workin’ For the Man, workin’ for the Beat Kangz, and workin’ for Detroit. 

Check it out HERE.

Third Degree Burn – S.O.U.L. eMag features Nadir

S.O.U.L. eMagâ„¢ – SECTIONS ON URBAN LIFE eMAGAZINE is the definitive voice of the urban-alternative experience reaching out to people all around the world.  The web publication is poised to become leader in reporting fashion, entertainment, and politics features for a multicultural audience online.

The Third Degree Burn is a column where each week a different artist is subjected to a barrage of random and ofttimes fairly meaningless questioning. This week Nadir feels the third degree burn.

Click HERE to read the interview

What is Nu Soul? – Nadir Explains on GrokMusic.com

What in the world is “Nu Soul”? Is it the same as “Neo Soul”? How is it different from regular old “Soul”?

Great questions, and Nadir helps clear up the confusion in a series of articles for GrokMusic.com.

http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/xj0ew
Anthony Hamilton – “Charlene”

GrokMusic.com guides you to new music by bringing together the best of technology and human driven content filtering, with the help of:

  1. The GrokMusic GPS. With either the GrokMusicMap or SuggestArtists both built on the preferences of hundreds of thousands of users like you – users are able to chart their own course to find music they love.
  2. Reviews and articles from experienced music fans and industry insiders.
  3. Hand-selected, recommended samples by genre, immediately available for purchase via Amazon.com or iTunes.
The publishers of GrokMusic asked Nadir to offer its viewers a primer to Nu Soul/Neo Soul music, and he kicked the facts with a quick history lesson and some suggested listening. Continue reading

What is Nu Soul? – Nadir Explains on GrokMusic.com

What in the world is “Nu Soul”? Is it the same as “Neo Soul”? How is it different from regular old “Soul”?

Great questions, and Nadir helps clear up the confusion in a series of articles for GrokMusic.com.


Anthony Hamilton – “Charlene”

GrokMusic.com guides you to new music by bringing together the best of technology and human driven content filtering, with the help of:

  1. The GrokMusic GPS. With either the GrokMusicMap or SuggestArtists both built on the preferences of hundreds of thousands of users like you – users are able to chart their own course to find music they love.
  2. Reviews and articles from experienced music fans and industry insiders.
  3. Hand-selected, recommended samples by genre, immediately available for purchase via Amazon.com or iTunes.
The publishers of GrokMusic asked Nadir to offer its viewers a primer to Nu Soul/Neo Soul music, and he kicked the facts with a quick history lesson and some suggested listening. Continue reading
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