Culture Representation: Taking place primarily in New York City, Belize, and Israel, the documentary film “The Honorable Shyne” features a predominantly black group of people (with some white people and Latin people) discussing the life and career of Moses “Shyne” Barrow, a rapper-turned-politician.
Culture Clash: Barrow (who was changed his first name from Jamal to Moses, after he became an Orthodox Jew) spent more than eight years in prison in New York, for a controversial shooting that involved entertainer/business mogul Sean Combs, and ex-convict Barrow has reinvented himself as a politician in Belize.
Culture Audience: “The Honorable Shyne” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in documentaries about hip-hop stars from the late 1990s/early 2000s and stories about people who reinvent themselves after experiencing scandalous downfalls.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow (front row center) in “The Honorable Shyne” (Photo courtesy of Andscape/Hulu)
“The Honorable Shyne” doesn’t reveal anything groundbreaking about former rapper Moses “Shyne” Barrow and the 1999 shooting scandal that sent him to prison. But this carefully curated documentary has some interesting interviews, which don’t include his ex-mentor Sean Combs. Barrow is currently a politician in his native country of Belize, which is south of Mexico. “The Honorable Shyne” does a fairly capable job of balancing the “before prison” and “after prison” aspects of Barrow’s story. The movie gives a bare minimum of information about what Barrow experienced while in prison, and some details of his post-prison life have inexplicably been left out of the documentary. “The Honorable Shyne” had its world premiere at the 2024 Urbanworld Film Festival.
Directed by Marcus A. Clarke, “The Honorable Shyne” greatly benefits from having Barrow participate in the documentary, because most people watching will want to get his perspective of the many controversies in his life. Barrow’s biggest scandal happened in New York City on December 27, 1999, when Barrow (who was 21 years old at the time), Combs and actress/singer Jennifer Lopez (who was dating Combs at the time) were involved in a gun shooting at a nightspot called Club New York. At the time, Barrow was an up-and-coming rapper who was signed to Combs’ Bad Boy Records.
Witness statements and testimonies vary, but the general consensus is that a convicted felon named Matthew “Scar” Allen got into an argument with Combs. Guns were drawn. Shots were fired. Three people who weren’t involved in the argument ended up getting gunshot injuries. The worst injury happened to Natania Reuben, who was shot in the face.
Reuben has not changed her eyewitness account that Combs was the person who shot her. Combs and Barrow denied that they shot anyone during this incident. Barrow, Combs and Lopez fled the scene and were all arrested by police. Barrow did not change his story: He said he pulled out his gun but didn’t shoot anyone. Lopez was ultimately not charged with any crime. “The Honorable Shyne” does not mention if the filmmakers attempted to interview Combs or Lopez for this documentary.
Combs and Barrow went on trial in 2001, for attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of an illegal weapon. Combs was acquitted of all the charges, while Barrow was found guilty of assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of an illegal weapon. Barrow was sentenced to 10 years in prison, served eight-and-a-half years, and was deported to Belize (where he was born) when he was released from prison in 2009.
“The Honorable Shyne” tells Barrow’s story in chronological order, so this shooting scandal isn’t covered in detail until about halfway through the documentary. Most of his biographical information in the documentary is already public knowledge. Barrow was born on November 8, 1978, in Belize City, the largest city in Belize. His first name at birth was Jamal, but he later changed his first name to Moses after he converted to Judaism in the early 2010s.
His family history is emotionally complicated because he grew up with the stigma of having a father who didn’t really want to acknowledge him and wasn’t in his life as a parent for all of Jamal’s childhood. His biological father Dean Barrow, a politician in Belize, cut off contact with Jamal when Jamal was a child, due to pressure from the woman who would become his wife and the mother of Dean’s other children. Jamal’s mother Frances Myvette was never married to Dean Barrow.
Myvette and Dean Barrow are each interviewed separately in the documentary. Dean admits that he was mostly an absentee father during Jamal’s childhood because politics was his life’s main priority. He also expresses regret over hurtful things he said and did at the time about Jamal being an illegitimate child. For example, he refused to sign Jamal’s birth certificate and often acted like the children he had with his wife were the only children of his who mattered. Myvette describes how the pain of this rejection affected Jamal, who was a rebellious child who got into trouble but had a creative and sensitive side.
When Jamal was 3 years old, his mother moved to the United States, while he stayed in Belize and was raised by his mother’s brother Michael Finnegan (who is interviewed in the documentary) and Dean Barrow’s sister Denise. In 1986, Jamal moved to the U.S. to live with his mother. They lived in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. He came along at a time when hip-hop was exploding in the mainstream, and New York was at the epicenter of hip-hop.
Derrick Castillo Jr., a friend of Jamal/Shyne during their childhoods in Brooklyn, describes him in the documentary as “that guy you didn’t want to get into an altercation with. He was a hoodlum.” On the other hand, was he a hoodlum with a heart? People in the documentary also describe him has having a generous side to his personality.
A turning point in Jamal’s life happened when he beat up a man who robbed a neighbor. Jamal was shot out of revenge for this beating. And it was enough for Myvette to move herself and Jamal out of the Brooklyn’s rough Flatbush neighborhood. By the time Jamal was a teenager, he was regularly writing rhymes and beats, with dreams of becoming a rapper. His rapper name became Shyne.
One of his idols was Jay-Z, who was signed to Def Jam Records at the time. A story told in the documentary is how Shyne boldly approached Jay-Z to give him a demo of Shyne’s recordings. Shyne asked Jay-Z if Jay-Z had a gun in his possession and told him that if Shyne’s demo wasn’t the best demo Jay-Z ever heard, then Jay-Z could shoot Shyne right then and there. This bizarre statement got Jay-Z’s attention, but he ultimately threw away the demo, according to what people say in the documentary.
One person who made a tremendous impact early on in Shyne’s rap career was DJ Clark Kent, who is interviewed in the documentary. (Kent died of colon cancer on October 24, 2024, at the age of 58.) “He was extremely confident, extremely eager,” Kent says about Shyne in the documentary.
In 1998, Kent was working on the Notorious B.I.G.’s posthumous album “Born Again” for Bad Boy Records when he introduced Shyne to Combs. Like many entertainers in hip-hop, Combs has had multiple stage names and nicknames. Combs’ nicknames have included Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy, Diddy and Love.
Shyne made enough of a name for himself in the New York rap scene that there was a bidding war to sign him. Def Jam offered Shyne the most money—reportedly $2 million, which was unheard of at the time for an unknown rapper who never recorded an album. Shyne ultimately decided to sign with Bad Boy because he felt more of a personal connection to Combs. This alliance would bring both highs and lows to Shyne that still have repercussions to this day.
“The Honorable Shyne” dutifully chronicles how Shyne became a hit artist before and after his imprisonment, during a time when record companies wanted rappers to have a “criminal” image to exploit so they could market the artists as having “street cred.” Ironically, Shyne could not fully enjoy the success of these hits because he was locked up in prison at the time. Although his deep voice and swaggering style got some comparisons to the Notorious B.I.G. (also known as Biggie Smalls), Shyne was much more of a sex symbol than the Notorious B.I.G., who died in an unsolved shooting murder in 1996.
Shyne has only two studio albums: His 2000 debut album “Shyne” (released on Bad Boy Records) and 2004’s “Godfather Buried Alive,” an album released on Def Jam. Both albums debuted in the Top 5 of the Billboard 200 album chart and were certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. Shyne’s singles from his first album are “Bad Boyz,” “That’s Gangsta” and “Bonnie & Shyne.” His second album yielded the singles “More or Less” and “Jimmy Choo.”
But loyalty in the music business can be fickle, which Shyne found out the hard way during his trial. In the documentary, he claims that he took the fall for crimes he didn’t commit because he didn’t want to be a snitch. Although he refuses to name who’s guilty of the crimes that sent him to prison, he will only say that Combs distanced himself from Shyne and essentially abandoned Shyne. Before the trial, it wasn’t Combs who bailed out Shyne but it was Shyne’s friend Manny Halley, who put up his own house for collateral for the bail. Halley is one of the people interviewed in the documentary.
“The Honorable Shyne” has interviews with Ian Niles and Murray Richman, who were Shyne’s attorneys who represented him in the trial. Richman says that Shyne’s biggest mistake was not getting rid of the gun after the shooting incident. Shyne doesn’t disagree with that opinion, but he also says that at the time, all he was thinking about was taking out the gun to protect Combs during that nightclub argument. In retrospect, Shyne believes that his attorneys gave up on him because they were up against Combs’ celebrity and legal “dream team” (which included Johnnie Cochran), who were determined to put all of the blame on Shyne.
By the time Shyne was released from prison and deported to Belize in 2009, he had no record deal, and he was considered a “has-been” in the music industry. His uncle Michael describes Shyne as being a shell of his former self (physically and emotionally) right after being released from prison. Shyne seemed lost and unsure of what he wanted to do with his life. By this time, Shyne’s father Dean had became Belize’s first black prime minister in 2008, and he continued as Belize’s prime minister until 2020.
Shyne says that his journey toward self-discovery led him to live in Israel from 2010 to 2013, which was the period of time that he converted to Orthodox Judaism and changed his first name to Moses. He says that Orthodox Judaism helped him keep his sanity and turned his life around. As an Orthodox Jewish rapper, Shyne released a few songs in hopes of making a comeback in the music industry, but those songs were poorly received. The documentary includes a montage of other rappers making fun of and insulting Shyne’s post-prison songs in various radio interviews.
Shyne says that during his time out of the spotlight, it was hard to see many other rappers—such as Combs, Jay-Z and 50 Cent—go on to even greater fame and fortune than he was able to accomplish. There’s no doubt that Shyne’s rap career was cut short because of his incarceration, but it’s debatable if he would have gone on to become a superstar if he hadn’t been in prison. Plenty of artists have been signed to major record companies, only to get dropped by these record companies and then fade into obscurity.
After deciding to retire as a rapper and moving back to Belize in 2013, Moses reinvented himself as an activist for the working-class people of Belize, and he became a politician in the Belize United Democratic Party. He reconnected with his father Dean. In 2020, Moses was elected as a member of the Belize House of Representatives for Mesopotamia, a position that was held by his uncle Michael Finnegan from 1993 to 2020. In 2022, Moses became the leader for the Opposition, who is the leader of the largest political party in the Belize’s House of Representatives that is not in government.
Moses says of mending his relationship with his father: “He’s not the perfect father, but he’s the father I needed.” Belize politician Juliet Thimbriel comments in the documentary on Shyne’s success as a politician: “Shyne worked for where he is.” However, Belize journalist Jules Vasquez has a different opinion, by saying that Shyne “benefited from nepotism.” Regardless of how Shyne came into power in politics, his friends such as rabbi Jeff Seidel say in the documentary that Shyne has a natural charisma that attracts people.
After Shyne got out of prison, Shyne’s on-again/off-again relationship with Combs included sometimes cordial reunions (such as performing together on stage at the 2022 BET Awards), but their friendship was never the same again after the shooting scandal. Most of the documentary interviews of Shyne were done in 2021 and 2022. However, toward the end of the documentary, there’s a newer interview where Shyne comments on Combs’ 2024 federal indictment and arrest on various criminal charges (including sex trafficking) and the various civil lawsuits filed against Combs by numerous people claiming he committed rape and other forms of assault and sex crimes.
In an interview done after these criminal charges and lawsuits were filed, Shyne is now the one publicly distancing himself from Combs. In May 2024, CNN made public a 2016 hotel security video of Combs viciously assaulting then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura (one of the people who filed a quickly settled lawsuit in 2023) in a hotel hallway. Combs made a public apology for the assault (after he had denied months earlier that he ever assaulted Ventura), but the damage was done. In September 2024, Combs was arrested on various sex crimes and was held in jail without bail.
In the documentary, Shyne says that seeing the video of Combs beating and kicking Ventura made him decide to never associate himself with Combs again. Shyne also says he’s put the music business behind him and has other priorities. “I’m completely focused on my charity to transform Belize,” he comments. Shyne expresses a certain amount of pride when he says that even though he went to prison for crimes he didn’t commit, he never ratted out anyone. It’s debatable whether or not this type of “loyalty” was worth all the years he spent locked up in prison.
Still, “The Honorable Shyne” doesn’t really answer lingering questions. Combs’ history of violence and intimidation have been well-documented since he became a celebrity in the 1990s. How much did Shyne really know about this corruption behind the scenes when he was signed to Bad Boy Records? Even if Shyne won’t answer those types of questions, viewers are left with the impression that the documentary filmmakers didn’t really want to probe or investigate.
The documentary also has very little information about Shyne’s love life before and after prison. Shyne briefly mentions that he had a rivalry with Bad Boy Records rapper Mase because they were both dating singer/actress Brandy at the same time. Shyne is now a married father (he’s shown frolicking on the beach with his wife and daughter in the documentary’s last scenes), but “The Honorable Shyne” provides no details and doesn’t have commentary from Shyne about his life as a husband or father. His wife is not interviewed, most likely to maintain her privacy.
The documentary’s most insightful (but somewhat lightweight) stories about Combs are told by Combs’ former bodyguard Gene Deal, who was at Club New York on the night of the shooting. Deal obviously knows more than he is saying, but doesn’t give any further information about what happened during the shooting incident that isn’t already in court testimony and news reports. His comments are mostly quips and anecdotes that don’t reveal anything that would change any legal cases.
In the documentary, Deal says that Combs used religion to rehabilitate Combs’ public image while Combs was waiting to go on trial for the nightclub shooting. Deal says half-jokingly that he and Combs spent more time in churches than at Bad Boy headquarters during this period of time. Other people in the documentary also mention that Combs’ celebrity status made it easier for people to believe that he was not guilty of the charges.
Deal also tells a bizarre but amusing story about going with Combs to Central Park on the day that the trial began. Before going to the courthouse, Combs was in the park and met with an unidentified man who appeared to bless Combs with sage smoke. Combs then climbed into an animal cage and then took out a dove and released it into the air. But the dove died and plopped on the ground. Deal said this dead bird was an omen, and he somewhat hints that this looked like some kind of pagan ritual.
Other people interviewed in the documentary are Shyne’s former manager Don Pooh, former Def Jam executive Kevin Liles, Shyne’s aunt Diane Finnegan, barber Mark Topper, former Bad Boy executive Cheryl Fox, Shyne’s friend Jackie Rowe, radio personality Charlamagne Tha God, rapper N.O.R.E., music executive Steven Victor, singer Faith Evans, minister/activist Conrad Tillard, artist/producer DJ Khaled, business executive Shawn “Pecas” Costner, reggae artist Barrington Levy, Shyne’s billionaire friend Jeffrey Schottenstein, Belize politician Tony Herrera, professor Lewis Gordon of the University of Connecticut, and former St. Lucia prime minister Allen Chastenet.
“The Honorable Shyne” is a very watchable documentary, but it doesn’t take enough risks to go beyond the surface to give revealing insights into the relationship between Shyne and Combs that altered the course of Shyne’s life. Evans—who was married to the Notorious B.I.G. and who was a longtime associate of Combs because she was signed to Bad Boy—is only quoted in the documentary with this generic comment: “Bad Boy was very much like a family for a very long time.”
The documentary works on a nostalgia level for fans of early 2000s hip-hop. It also works as a “where are they now” biography. But don’t expect the documentary to have Shyne talking about what really went on behind the scenes when he was close to Combs. “The Honorable Shyne” tells an inspiring redemption story but ultimately looks like a promotion for Shyne’s next career ambition to become prime minister of Belize.
Hulu will premiere “The Honorable Shyne” on November 18, 2024.
Beyoncé is the top nominee at the 65th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on February 5, 2023 (Photo by Francis Specker/CBS)
The following is a press release from the Recording Academy:
Topping the list of nominees for the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards® are Beyoncé (11), Charli XCX (7), Billie Eilish (7), Kendrick Lamar (7), Post Malone (7), Sabrina Carpenter (6), Chappell Roan (6), and Taylor Swift (6). As the only peer-voted music award, the GRAMMY Awards® are selected by the Recording Academy®’s voting membership body of music makers, who represent all genres and creative disciplines, including recording artists, songwriters, composers, producers, mixers, and engineers. The nominees were announced via a livestream event on live.GRAMMY.com and YouTube.
“Today we celebrate the amazing creative achievements of our music community,” said Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy. “It was an incredible year in music and these nominations reflect the work of a voting body that is more representative of the music community than ever before. The GRAMMY® became music’s most coveted award precisely because the recognition comes from one’s peers, and I’m so grateful for the Academy’s 13,000 voting members who take the time to evaluate all the amazing music, cast their votes, and honor their peers. Congratulations to all the nominees.”
This year’s eligibility period includes recordings released between Sept. 16, 2023 – Aug. 30, 2024. The final round of GRAMMY voting, which will determine GRAMMY recipients, will take place Dec. 12, 2024 – Jan. 3, 2025. The 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards will return to Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena on Sun, Feb. 2, 2025, and will broadcast live on the CBS Television Network and stream live and on-demand on Paramount+ at 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5-8:30 p.m. PT. Prior to the Telecast, the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony® will be held at the Peacock Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on live.GRAMMY.com and the Recording Academy’s YouTube channel. The 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards will again be produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins are executive producers.
Award to the Artist(s), Album Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), and/or Mixer(s), and Mastering Engineer(s) if other than the artist.
NOMINEES:
“Now and Then”– The Beatles
Giles Martin & Paul McCartney, producers; Geoff Emerick, Steve Genewick, Jon Jacobs, Greg McAllister, Steve Orchard, Keith Smith, Mark ‘Spike’ Stent & Bruce Sugar, engineers/mixers; Miles Showell, mastering engineer
“TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” – Beyoncé
Beyoncé, Nate Ferraro, Killah B & Raphael Saadiq, producers; Hotae Alexander Jang, Alex Nibley & Stuart White, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
Sean Momberger, Mustard & Sounwave, producers; Ray Charles Brown Jr. & Johnathan Turner, engineers/mixers; Nicolas de Porcel, mastering engineer
“Good Luck, Babe!” – Chappell Roan
Dan Nigro, producer; Mitch McCarthy & Dan Nigro, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
“Fortnight” – Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone
Jack Antonoff, Louis Bell & Taylor Swift, producers; Louis Bell, Bryce Bordone, Serban Ghenea, Sean Hutchinson, Oli Jacobs, Michael Riddleberger & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
CATEGORY 2
Album Of The Year
Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with 20% or more playing time of the album.)
New Blue Sun – André 3000
André 3000 & Carlos Niño, producers; André 3000, Carlos Niño & Ken Oriole, engineers/mixers; André 3000, Surya Botofasina, Nate Mercereau & Carlos Niño, songwriters; Andy Kravitz, mastering engineer
COWBOY CARTER – Beyoncé
Beyoncé, Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant & Dave Hamelin, producers; Matheus Braz, Brandon Harding, Hotae Alexander Jang, Dani Pampuri & Stuart White, engineers/mixers; Ryan Beatty, Beyoncé, Camaron Ochs, Terius “The-Dream” Gesteelde-Diamant, Dave Hamelin, S. Carter & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
Short n’ Sweet – Sabrina Carpenter
Jack Antonoff, Julian Bunetta, Ian Kirkpatrick & John Ryan, producers; Bryce Bordone, Julian Bunetta, Serban Ghenea, Jeff Gunnell, Oli Jacobs, Manny Marroquin, John Ryan & Laura Sisk, engineers/mixers; Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff, Julian Bunetta, Sabrina Carpenter, Ian Kirkpatrick, Julia Michaels & John Ryan, songwriters; Nathan Dantzler & Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineers
BRAT – Charli xcx
Charli xcx, Cirkut & A. G. Cook, producers; A. G. Cook, Tom Norris & Geoff Swan, engineers/mixers; Charlotte Aitchison, Henry Walter, Alexander Guy Cook, Finn Keane & Jonathan Christopher Shave, songwriters; Idania Valencia, mastering engineer
Djesse Vol. 4 – Jacob Collier
Jacob Collier, producer; Ben Bloomberg, Jacob Collier & Paul Pouwer, engineers/mixers; Jacob Collier, songwriter; Chris Allgood & Emily Lazar, mastering engineers
Chappell Roan The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess – Chappell Roan
Daniel Nigro, producer; Mitch McCarthy & Daniel Nigro, engineers/mixers; Daniel Nigro & Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT – Taylor Swift
Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, producers; Zem Audu, Bella Blasko, Bryce Bordone, Serban Ghenea, David Hart, Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Oli Jacobs, Jonathan Low, Michael Riddleberger, Christopher Rowe, Laura Sisk & Evan Smith, engineers/mixers; Jack Antonoff, Aaron Dessner & Taylor Swift, songwriters; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
CATEGORY 3
Song Of The Year
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams, songwriters (Shaboozey)
“BIRDS OF A FEATHER” — Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
“Die With A Smile” — Dernst Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars)
“Fortnight” — Jack Antonoff, Austin Post & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone)
“Good Luck, Babe!” — Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Daniel Nigro & Justin Tranter, songwriters (Chappell Roan)
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
“TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” — Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyoncé)
CATEGORY 4
Best New Artist
This category recognizes an artist whose eligibility-year release(s) achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative rock recordings.
“Now and Then” — The Beatles
“Beautiful People (Stay High)” — The Black Keys
“The American Dream Is Killing Me” — Green Day
“Gift Horse” — IDLES
“Dark Matter” — Pearl Jam
“Broken Man” — St. Vincent
Field 2: Rock, Metal & Alternative Music
CATEGORY 15
Best Metal Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative metal recordings.
“Mea Culpa (Ah! Ça ira!)” — Gojira, Marina Viotti & Victor Le Masne
“Crown of Horns” — Judas Priest
“Suffocate” — Knocked Loose Featuring Poppy
“Screaming Suicide” — Metallica
“Cellar Door” — Spiritbox
CATEGORY 16
Best Rock Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Rock, Hard Rock and Metal songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
“Beautiful People (Stay High)” — Dan Auerbach, Patrick Carney, Beck Hansen & Daniel Nakamura, songwriters (The Black Keys)
“Dark Matter” — Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Eddie Vedder & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Pearl Jam)
“Dilemma” — Billie Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool & Mike Dirnt, songwriters (Green Day)
“Gift Horse” — Jon Beavis, Mark Bowen, Adam Devonshire, Lee Kiernan & Joe Talbot, songwriters (IDLES)
CATEGORY 17
Best Rock Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new rock, hard rock or metal recordings.
Happiness Bastards — The Black Crowes
Romance — Fontaines D.C.
Saviors — Green Day
TANGK — IDLES
Dark Matter — Pearl Jam
Hackney Diamonds — The Rolling Stones
No Name — Jack White
CATEGORY 18
Best Alternative Music Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo, duo/group or collaborative Alternative music recordings.
“Neon Pill” — Cage The Elephant
“Song Of The Lake” — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
“Starburster” — Fontaines D.C.
“BYE BYE” — Kim Gordon
“Flea” — St. Vincent
CATEGORY 19
Best Alternative Music Album
Vocal or Instrumental.
Wild God — Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Charm — Clairo
The Collective — Kim Gordon
What Now — Brittany Howard
All Born Screaming — St. Vincent
Field 3: R&B, Rap & Spoken Word Poetry
CATEGORY 20
Best R&B Performance
For new vocal or instrumental R&B recordings.
“Guidance” — Jhené Aiko
“Residuals” — Chris Brown
“Here We Go (Uh Oh)” — Coco Jones
“Made For Me (Live On BET)” — Muni Long
“Saturn” — SZA
CATEGORY 21
Best Traditional R&B Performance
For new vocal or instrumental traditional R&B recordings.
“Wet” — Marsha Ambrosius
“Can I Have This Groove” — Kenyon Dixon
“No Lie” — Lalah Hathaway Featuring Michael McDonald
“Make Me Forget” — Muni Long
“That’s You” — Lucky Daye
CATEGORY 22
Best R&B Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
“After Hours” — Diovanna Frazier, Alex Goldblatt, Kehlani Parrish, Khris Riddick-Tynes & Daniel Upchurch, songwriters (Kehlani)
“Burning” — Ronald Banful & Temilade Openiyi, songwriters (Tems)
“Here We Go (Uh Oh)” — Sara Diamond, Sydney Floyd, Marisela Jackson, Courtney Jones, Carl McCormick & Kelvin Wooten, songwriters (Coco Jones)
“Ruined Me” — Jeff Gitelman, Priscilla Renea & Kevin Theodore, songwriters (Muni Long)
“Saturn” — Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, Solána Rowe, Jared Solomon & Scott Zhang, songwriters (SZA)
CATEGORY 23
Best Progressive R&B Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded progressive vocal tracks derivative of R&B.
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new R&B recordings.
11:11 (Deluxe) — Chris Brown
VANTABLACK — Lalah Hathaway
Revenge — Muni Long
Algorithm — Lucky Daye
COMING HOME — Usher
CATEGORY 25
Best Rap Performance
For a Rap performance. Singles or Tracks only.
“Enough (Miami)” — Cardi B
“When The Sun Shines Again” — Common & Pete Rock Featuring Posdnuos
“NISSAN ALTIMA” — Doechii
“Houdini” — Eminem
“Like That” — Future & Metro Boomin Featuring Kendrick Lamar
“Yeah Glo!” — GloRilla
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar
CATEGORY 26
Best Melodic Rap Performance
For a solo or collaborative performance containing both elements of R&B melodies and Rap.
“KEHLANI” — Jordan Adetunji Featuring Kehlani
“SPAGHETTII” — Beyoncé Featuring Linda Martell & Shaboozey
“We Still Don’t Trust You” — Future & Metro Boomin Featuring The Weeknd
“Big Mama” — Latto
“3” — Rapsody Featuring Erykah Badu
CATEGORY 27
Best Rap Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
“Carnival” — Jordan Carter, Raul Cubina, Grant Dickinson, Samuel Lindley, Nasir Pemberton, Dimitri Roger, Ty Dolla $ign, Kanye West & Mark Carl Stolinski Williams, songwriters (¥$ (Kanye West & Ty Dolla $Ign) Featuring Rich The Kid & Playboi Carti)
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new instrumental jazz recordings.
Owl Song — Ambrose Akinmusire Featuring Bill Frisell & Herlin Riley
Beyond This Place — Kenny Barron Featuring Kiyoshi Kitagawa, Johnathan Blake, Immanuel Wilkins & Steve Nelson
Phoenix Reimagined (Live) — Lakecia Benjamin
Remembrance — Chick Corea & Béla Fleck
Solo Game — Sullivan Fortner
CATEGORY 33
Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new large ensemble jazz recordings.
Returning To Forever — John Beasley & Frankfurt Radio Big Band
And So It Goes — The Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra
Walk A Mile In My Shoe — Orrin Evans & The Captain Black Big Band
Bianca Reimagined: Music for Paws and Persistence — Dan Pugach Big Band
Golden City — Miguel Zenón
CATEGORY 34
Best Latin Jazz Album
For vocal or instrumental albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded material. The intent of this category is to recognize recordings that represent the blending of jazz with Latin, Iberian-American, Brazilian, and Argentinian tango music.
Spain Forever Again — Michel Camilo & Tomatito
Cubop Lives! — Zaccai Curtis
COLLAB — Hamilton de Holanda & Gonzalo Rubalcaba
Time And Again — Eliane Elias
El Trio: Live in Italy — Horacio ‘El Negro’ Hernández, John Beasley & José Gola
Cuba And Beyond — Chucho Valdés & Royal Quartet
As I Travel — Donald Vega Featuring Lewis Nash, John Patitucci & Luisito Quintero
CATEGORY 35
Best Alternative Jazz Album
For vocal or instrumental albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Alternative jazz recordings.
Night Reign — Arooj Aftab
New Blue Sun — André 3000
Code Derivation — Robert Glasper
Foreverland — Keyon Harrold
No More Water: The Gospel Of James Baldwin — Meshell Ndegeocello
CATEGORY 36
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new traditional pop recordings.
À Fleur De Peau — Cyrille Aimée
Visions — Norah Jones
Good Together — Lake Street Dive
Impossible Dream — Aaron Lazar
Christmas Wish — Gregory Porter
CATEGORY 37
Best Contemporary Instrumental Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new contemporary instrumental recordings.
Plot Armor — Taylor Eigsti
Rhapsody In Blue — Béla Fleck
Orchestras (Live) — Bill Frisell Featuring Alexander Hanson, Brussels Philharmonic, Rudy Royston & Thomas Morgan
Mark — Mark Guiliana
Speak To Me — Julian Lage
CATEGORY 38
Best Musical Theater Album
For albums containing greater than 51% playing time of new recordings. Award to the principal vocalist(s), and the album producer(s) of 50% or more playing time of the album. The lyricist(s) and composer(s) of 50% or more of a score of a new recording are eligible for an Award if any previous recording of said score has not been nominated in this category.
Hell’s Kitchen — Shoshana Bean, Brandon Victor Dixon, Kecia Lewis & Meleah Joi Moon, principal vocalists; Adam Blackstone, Alicia Keys & Tom Kitt, producers (Alicia Keys, composer & lyricist) (Original Broadway Cast)
Merrily We Roll Along — Jonathan Groff, Lindsay Mendez & Daniel Radcliffe, principal vocalists; David Caddick, Joel Fram, Maria Friedman & David Lai, producers (Stephen Sondheim, composer & lyricist) (New Broadway Cast)
The Notebook — John Clancy, Carmel Dean, Kurt Deutsch, Derik Lee, Kevin McCollum & Ingrid Michaelson, producers; Ingrid Michaelson, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)
The Outsiders — Joshua Boone, Brent Comer, Brody Grant & Sky Lakota-Lynch, principal vocalists; Zach Chance, Jonathan Clay, Matt Hinkley, Justin Levine & Lawrence Manchester, producers; Zach Chance, Jonathan Clay & Justin Levine, composers/lyricists (Original Broadway Cast)
Suffs — Andrea Grody, Dean Sharenow & Shaina Taub, producers; Shaina Taub, composer & lyricist (Original Broadway Cast)
The Wiz — Wayne Brady, Deborah Cox, Nichelle Lewis & Avery Wilson, principal vocalists; Joseph Joubert, Allen René Louis & Lawrence Manchester, producers (Charlie Smalls, composer & lyricist) (2024 Broadway Cast Recording)
Field 5: Country & American Roots Music
CATEGORY 39
Best Country Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo country recordings.
“16 CARRIAGES” — Beyoncé
“I Am Not Okay” — Jelly Roll
“The Architect” — Kacey Musgraves
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — Shaboozey
“It Takes A Woman” — Chris Stapleton
CATEGORY 40
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative country recordings.
“Cowboys Cry Too” — Kelsea Ballerini With Noah Kahan
“II MOST WANTED” — Beyoncé Featuring Miley Cyrus
“Break Mine” — Brothers Osborne
“Bigger Houses” — Dan + Shay
“I Had Some Help” — Post Malone Featuring Morgan Wallen
CATEGORY 41
Best Country Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” — Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams, songwriters (Shaboozey)
“I Am Not Okay” — Casey Brown, Jason DeFord, Ashley Gorley & Taylor Phillips, songwriters (Jelly Roll)
“I Had Some Help” — Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Hoskins, Austin Post, Ernest Smith, Ryan Vojtesak, Morgan Wallen & Chandler Paul Walters, songwriters (Post Malone Featuring Morgan Wallen)
“TEXAS HOLD ‘EM” — Brian Bates, Beyoncé, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyoncé)
CATEGORY 42
Best Country Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new country recordings.
COWBOY CARTER — Beyoncé
F-1 Trillion — Post Malone
Deeper Well — Kacey Musgraves
Higher — Chris Stapleton
Whirlwind — Lainey Wilson
CATEGORY 43
Best American Roots Performance
For new vocal or instrumental American Roots recordings. This is for performances in the style of any of the subgenres encompassed in the American Roots Music field including bluegrass, blues, folk or regional roots. Award to the artist(s).
“Blame It On Eve” — Shemekia Copeland
“Nothing In Rambling” — The Fabulous Thunderbirds Featuring Bonnie Raitt, Keb’ Mo’, Taj Mahal & Mick Fleetwood
“Lighthouse” — Sierra Ferrell
“The Ballad Of Sally Anne” — Rhiannon Giddens
CATEGORY 44
Best Americana Performance
For new vocal or instrumental Americana performance. Award to the artist(s).
“YA YA” — Beyoncé
“Subtitles” — Madison Cunningham
“Don’t Do Me Good” — Madi Diaz Featuring Kacey Musgraves
“American Dreaming” — Sierra Ferrell
“Runaway Train” — Sarah Jarosz
“Empty Trainload Of Sky” — Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
CATEGORY 45
Best American Roots Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Americana, bluegrass, traditional blues, contemporary blues, folk or regional roots songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
“Ahead Of The Game” — Mark Knopfler, songwriter (Mark Knopfler)
“All In Good Time” — Sam Beam, songwriter (Iron & Wine Featuring Fiona Apple)
“All My Friends” — Aoife O’Donovan, songwriter (Aoife O’Donovan)
“Blame It On Eve” — John Hahn & Will Kimbrough, songwriters (Shemekia Copeland)
CATEGORY 46
Best Americana Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Americana recordings.
The Other Side — T Bone Burnett
$10 Cowboy — Charley Crockett
Trail Of Flowers — Sierra Ferrell
Polaroid Lovers — Sarah Jarosz
No One Gets Out Alive — Maggie Rose
Tigers Blood — Waxahatchee
CATEGORY 47
Best Bluegrass Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental bluegrass recordings.
I Built A World — Bronwyn Keith-Hynes
Songs of Love and Life — The Del McCoury Band
No Fear — Sister Sadie
Live Vol. 1 — Billy Strings
Earl Jam — Tony Trischka
Dan Tyminski: Live From The Ryman — Dan Tyminski
CATEGORY 48
Best Traditional Blues Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental traditional blues recordings.
Hill Country Love — Cedric Burnside
Struck Down — The Fabulous Thunderbirds
One Guitar Woman — Sue Foley
Sam’s Place — Little Feat
Swingin’ Live at The Church in Tulsa — The Taj Mahal Sextet
CATEGORY 49
Best Contemporary Blues Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental contemporary blues recordings.
Blues Deluxe Vol. 2 — Joe Bonamassa
Blame It On Eve — Shemekia Copeland
Friendlytown — Steve Cropper & The Midnight Hour
Mileage — Ruthie Foster
The Fury — Antonio Vergara
CATEGORY 50
Best Folk Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental folk recordings.
American Patchwork Quartet — American Patchwork Quartet
Weird Faith — Madi Diaz
Bright Future — Adrianne Lenker
All My Friends — Aoife O’Donovan
Woodland — Gillian Welch & David Rawlings
CATEGORY 51
Best Regional Roots Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new vocal or instrumental regional roots music recordings.
25 Back To My Roots — Sean Ardoin And Kreole Rock And Soul
Live At The 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — Big Chief Monk Boudreaux & The Golden Eagles Featuring J’Wan Boudreaux
Live At The 2024 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — New Breed Brass Band Featuring Trombone Shorty
Kuini — Kalani Pe’a
Stories From The Battlefield — The Rumble Featuring Chief Joseph Boudreaux Jr.
Field 6: Gospel & Contemporary Christian Music
CATEGORY 52
Best Gospel Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best traditional Christian, roots gospel, or contemporary gospel single or track.
“Church Doors” — Yolanda Adams; Sir William James Baptist & Donald Lawrence, songwriters
“Yesterday” — Melvin Crispell III
“Hold On (Live)” — Ricky Dillard
“Holy Hands” — DOE; Jesse Paul Barrera, Jeffrey Castro Bernat, Dominique Jones, Timothy Ferguson, Kelby Shavon Johnson, Jr., Jonathan McReynolds, Rickey Slikk Muzik Offord & Juan Winans, songwriters
“One Hallelujah” — Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Erica Campbell & Israel Houghton Featuring Jonathan McReynolds & Jekalyn Carr; G. Morris Coleman, Israel Houghton, Kenneth Leonard, Jr., Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Naomi Raine, songwriters
CATEGORY 53
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best contemporary Christian music single or track (including pop, rap/hip-hop, Latin, or rock).
“Praise” — Elevation Worship Featuring Brandon Lake, Chris Brown & Chandler Moore; Pat Barrett, Chris Brown, Cody Carnes, Steven Furtick, Brandon Lake & Chandler Moore, songwriters
“Firm Foundation (He Won’t)” — Honor & Glory Featuring Disciple
“In The Name Of Jesus” — JWLKRS Worship & Maverick City Music Featuring Chandler Moore; Austin Armstrong, Ran Jackson, Chandler Moore, Sajan Nauriyal, Ella Schnacky, Noah Schnacky & Ilya Toshinskiy, songwriters
“In The Room” — Maverick City Music, Naomi Raine & Chandler Moore Featuring Tasha Cobbs Leonard; G. Morris Coleman, Tasha Cobbs Leonard & Naomi Raine, songwriters
“That’s My King” — CeCe Winans; Taylor Agan, Kellie Gamble, Llyod Nicks & Jess Russ, songwriters
CATEGORY 54
Best Gospel Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings.
Covered Vol. 1 — Melvin Crispell III
Choirmaster II (Live) — Ricky Dillard
Father’s Day — Kirk Franklin
Still Karen — Karen Clark Sheard
More Than This — CeCe Winans
CATEGORY 55
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, contemporary Christian music, including pop, rap/hip-hop, Latin, or rock recordings.
Heart Of A Human — DOE
When Wind Meets Fire — Elevation Worship
Child Of God — Forrest Frank
Coat Of Many Colors — Brandon Lake
The Maverick Way Complete — Maverick City Music, Naomi Raine & Chandler Moore
CATEGORY 56
Best Roots Gospel Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional/roots gospel music, including country, Southern gospel, bluegrass, and Americana recordings.
The Gospel Sessions, Vol 2 — Authentic Unlimited
The Gospel According To Mark — Mark D. Conklin
Rhapsody — The Harlem Gospel Travelers
Church — Cory Henry
Loving You — The Nelons
Field 7: Latin, Global, Reggae & New Age, Ambient, or Chant
CATEGORY 57
Best Latin Pop Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Latin pop recordings.
Funk Generation — Anitta
El Viaje — Luis Fonsi
GARCÍA — Kany García
Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran — Shakira
ORQUÍDEAS — Kali Uchis
CATEGORY 58
Best Música Urbana Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Música Urbana recordings.
nadie sabe lo que va a pasar mañana — Bad Bunny
Rayo — J Balvin
FERXXOCALIPSIS — Feid
LAS LETRAS YA NO IMPORTAN — Residente
att. — Young Miko
CATEGORY 59
Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new Latin rock or alternative recordings.
Compita del Destino — El David Aguilar
Pa’ Tu Cuerpa — Cimafunk
Autopoiética — Mon Laferte
GRASA — NATHY PELUSO
¿Quién trae las cornetas? — Rawayana
CATEGORY 60
Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano)
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new regional Mexican (banda, norteño, corridos, gruperos, mariachi, ranchera and Tejano) recordings.
Diamantes — Chiquis
Boca Chueca, Vol. 1 — Carín León
ÉXODO — Peso Pluma
De Lejitos — Jessi Uribe
CATEGORY 61
Best Tropical Latin Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new tropical Latin recordings.
MUEVENSE — Marc Anthony
Bailar — Sheila E.
Radio Güira — Juan Luis Guerra 4.40
Alma, Corazón y Salsa (Live at Gran Teatro Nacional) — Tony Succar, Mimy Succar
Vacilón Santiaguero — Kiki Valera
CATEGORY 62
Best Global Music Performance
For new vocal or instrumental Global music recordings.
“Raat Ki Rani” — Arooj Aftab
“A Rock Somewhere” — Jacob Collier Featuring Anoushka Shankar & Varijashree Venugopal
Chapter II: How Dark It Is Before Dawn — Anoushka Shankar
Warriors Of Light — Radhika Vekaria
Field 8: Children’s, Comedy, Audio Books, Visual Media & Music Video/Film
CATEGORY 67
Best Children’s Music Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new musical or spoken word recordings that are created and intended specifically for children.
Brillo, Brillo! — Lucky Diaz And The Family Jam Band
Creciendo — Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats
My Favorite Dream — John Legend
Solid Rock Revival — Rock For Children
World Wide Playdate — Divinity Roxx and Divi Roxx Kids
CATEGORY 68
Best Comedy Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new recordings.
Armageddon — Ricky Gervais
The Dreamer — Dave Chappelle
The Prisoner — Jim Gaffigan
Someday You’ll Die — Nikki Glaser
Where Was I — Trevor Noah
CATEGORY 69
Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording
For an album that is spoken word in format.
All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words (Various Artists) — Guy Oldfield, producer
…And Your Ass Will Follow — George Clinton
Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones — Dolly Parton
Last Sundays in Plains: A Centennial Celebration — Jimmy Carter
My Name Is Barbra — Barbra Streisand
CATEGORY 70
Best Compilation Soundtrack For Visual Media
Award to the principal artist(s) and/or ‘in studio’ producer(s) of a majority of the tracks on the album. Award also goes to appropriately credited music supervisor(s).
The Color Purple — (Various Artists)
Deadpool & Wolverine — (Various Artists)
Maestro: Music By Leonard Bernstein — London Symphony Orchestra, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Bradley Cooper
Saltburn — (Various Artists)
Twisters: The Album — (Various Artists)
CATEGORY 71
Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media (Includes Film And Television)
Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for a current motion picture, television show, or series.
Shōgun — Nick Chuba, Atticus Ross & Leopold Ross, composers
CATEGORY 72
Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media
Award to Composer(s) for an original score created specifically for, or as a companion to, video games and other interactive media.
Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora — Pinar Toprak, composer
God of War Ragnarök: Valhalla — Bear McCreary, composer
Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 — John Paesano, composer
Star Wars Outlaws — Wilbert Roget, II, composer
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord — Winifred Phillips, composer
CATEGORY 73
Best Song Written For Visual Media
A Songwriter(s) award. For a song (melody & lyrics) written specifically for a motion picture, television, video game or other visual media. Singles or Tracks only.
Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma [From “Twisters: The Album”] — Jessi Alexander, Luke Combs & Jonathan Singleton, songwriters (Luke Combs)
Better Place [From “TROLLS Band Together”] — Amy Allen, Shellback & Justin Timberlake, songwriters (*NSYNC & Justin Timberlake)
Can’t Catch Me Now [From “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes”] — Daniel Nigro & Olivia Rodrigo, songwriters (Olivia Rodrigo)
It Never Went Away [From “American Symphony”] — Jon Batiste & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Jon Batiste)
Love Will Survive [From “The Tattooist of Auschwitz”] — Walter Afanasieff, Charlie Midnight, Kara Talve & Hans Zimmer, songwriters (Barbra Streisand)
CATEGORY 74
Best Music Video
Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.
“Tailor Swif” — A$AP Rocky
Vania Heymann & Gal Muggia, video directors
“360” — Charli xcx
Aidan Zamiri, video director; Jami Arceo & Evan Thicke, video producers
“Houdini” — Eminem
Rich Lee, video director; Kathy Angstadt, Lisa Arianna & Justin Diener, video producers
“Not Like Us” — Kendrick Lamar
Dave Free & Kendrick Lamar, video directors; Jack Begert, Sam Canter & Jamie Rabineau, video producers
“Fortnight” — Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone
Taylor Swift, video director; Jil Hardin, video producer
CATEGORY 75
Best Music Film
For concert/performance films or music documentaries. Award to the artist, video director, and video producer.
“American Symphony” — Jon Batiste
Matthew Heineman, video director; Lauren Domino, Matthew Heineman & Joedan Okun, video producers
“June” — (June Carter Cash)
Kristen Vaurio, video director; Josh Matas, Sarah Olson, Jason Owen, Mary Robertson & Kristen Vaurio, video producers
“Kings From Queens” — Run DMC
Kirk Fraser, video director; William H. Masterson III, video producer
“Stevie Van Zandt: Disciple” — Steven Van Zandt
Bill Teck, video director; Robert Cotto, David Fisher & Bill Teck, video producers
“The Greatest Night in Pop” — (Various Artists)
Bao Nguyen, video director; Bruce Eskowitz, George Hencken, Larry Klein, Julia Nottingham, Lionel Richie & Harriet Sternberg, video producers
Field 9: Package, Notes & Historical
CATEGORY 76
Best Recording Package
For the best artistic package of an album.
The Avett Brothers — Jonny Black & Giorgia Sage, art directors (The Avett Brothers)
Baker Hotel — Sarah Dodds & Shauna Dodds, art directors (William Clark Green)
BRAT — Brent David Freaney & Imogene Strauss, art directors (Charli xcx)
F-1 Trillion — Archie Lee Coates IV, Jeffrey Franklin, Blossom Liu, Kylie McMahon & Ana Cecilia Thompson Motta, art directors (Post Malone)
Hounds Of Love The Baskerville Edition — Kate Bush & Albert McIntosh, art directors (Kate Bush)
Jug Band Millionaire — Andrew Wong & Julie Yeh, art directors (The Muddy Basin Ramblers)
Pregnancy, Breakdown, And Disease — Lee Pei-Tzu, art director (iWhoiWhoo)
CATEGORY 77
Best Boxed Or Special Limited Edition Package
For the best package of a special edition album.
Half Living Things — Patrick Galvin, art director (Alpha Wolf)
Hounds Of Love The Boxes Of Lost At Sea — Kate Bush & Albert McIntosh, art directors (Kate Bush)
In Utero — Doug Cunningham & Jason Noto, art directors (Nirvana)
Mind Games — Simon Hilton & Sean Ono Lennon, art directors (John Lennon)
Unsuk Chin — Takahiro Kurashima & Marek Polewski, art directors (Unsuk Chin & Berliner Philharmoniker)
We Blame Chicago — Rebeka Arce & Farbod Kokabi, art directors (90 Day Men)
CATEGORY 78
Best Album Notes
Award to the album notes writer.
After Midnight — Tim Brooks, album notes writer (Ford Dabney’s Syncopated Orchestras)
The Carnegie Hall Concert — Lauren Du Graf, album notes writer (Alice Coltrane)
Centennial — Ricky Riccardi, album notes writer (King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band & Various Artists)
John Culshaw — The Art Of The Producer – The Early Years 1948-55 — Dominic Fyfe, album notes writer (John Culshaw)
SONtrack Original De La Película “Al Son De Beno” — Josh Kun, album notes writer (Various Artists)
CATEGORY 79
Best Historical Album
For historical albums containing reissues or compilations. Award to compilation producers and mastering engineers.
Centennial — Meagan Hennessey & Richard Martin, compilation producers; Richard Martin, mastering engineer (King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band And Various Artists)
Diamonds And Pearls: Super Deluxe Edition — Charles F. Spicer, Jr. & Duane Tudahl, compilation producers; Brad Blackwood & Bernie Grundman, mastering engineers (Prince & The New Power Generation)
Paul Robeson – Voice of Freedom: His Complete Columbia, RCA, HMV, and Victor Recordings — Tom Laskey & Robert Russ, compilation producers; Nancy Conforti & Andreas K. Meyer, mastering engineers (Paul Robeson)
Pepito y Paquito — Pepe De Lucía & Javier Doria, compilation producers; Jesús Bola, mastering engineer (Pepe De Lucía And Paco De Lucía)
The Sound Of Music (Original Soundtrack Recording – Super Deluxe Edition) — Mike Matessino & Mark Piro, compilation producers; Steve Genewick & Mike Matessino, mastering engineers (Rodgers & Hammerstein & Julie Andrews)
CATEGORY 80
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artists’ names appear in parentheses.)
Algorithm — Dernst Emile II, Michael B. Hunter, Stephan Johnson, Rachel Keen, John Kercy, Charles Moniz & Todd Robinson, engineers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer (Lucky Daye)
Cyan Blue — Jack Emblem, Jack Rochon & Charlotte Day Wilson, engineers; Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer (Charlotte Day Wilson)
Deeper Well — Craig Alvin, Shawn Everett, Mai Leisz, Todd Lombardo, John Rooney, Konrad Snyder & Daniel Tashian, engineers; Greg Calbi, mastering engineer (Kacey Musgraves)
empathogen — Beatriz Artola, Zach Brown, Oscar Cornejo, Chris Greatti & Mitch McCarthy, engineers; Joe La Porta, mastering engineer (WILLOW)
i/o — Tchad Blake, Oli Jacobs, Katie May & Dom Shaw, engineers; Matt Colton, mastering engineer (Peter Gabriel)
Short n’ Sweet — Bryce Bordone, Julian Bunetta, Serban Ghenea, Jeff Gunnell, Oli Jacobs, Ian Kirkpatrick, Jack Manning, Manny Marroquin, John Ryan & Laura Sisk, engineers; Nathan Dantzler & Ruairi O’Flaherty, mastering engineers (Sabrina Carpenter)
CATEGORY 81
Best Engineered Album, Classical
An Engineer’s Award. (Artists’ names appear in parentheses.)
Adams: Girls Of The Golden West — Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (John Adams, Daniela Mack, Ryan McKinny, Paul Appleby, Hye Jung Lee, Elliot Madore, Julia Bullock, Davóne Tines, Los Angeles Philharmonic & Los Angeles Master Chorale)
Andres: The Blind Banister — Silas Brown, Doron Schachter & Michael Schwartz, engineers; Matt Colton, mastering engineer (Andrew Cyr, Inbal Segev & Metropolis Ensemble)
Bruckner: Symphony No. 7; Bates: Resurrexit — Mark Donahue & John Newton, engineers; Mark Donahue, mastering engineer (Manfred Honeck & Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra)
Clear Voices In The Dark — Daniel Shores, engineer; Daniel Shores, mastering engineer (Matthew Guard & Skylark Vocal Ensemble)
Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina — Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, engineers; Alexander Lipay & Dmitriy Lipay, mastering engineers (Gustavo Dudamel, María Dueñas, Los Angeles Philharmonic & Los Angeles Master Chorale)
CATEGORY 82
Producer Of The Year, Classical
A Producer’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) (S) stands for Single, (T) stands for Track, and (A) stands for Album.
Adams: Girls Of The Golden West (John Adams, Daniela Mack, Ryan McKinny, Paul Appleby, Hye Jung Lee, Elliot Madore, Julia Bullock, Davóne Tines, Los Angeles
Philharmonic & Los Angeles Master Chorale) (A)
Messiaen: Des Canyons Aux Étoiles… (Ludovic Morlot & Seattle Symphony) (A)
Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina (Gustavo Dudamel, Gabriela Ortiz, María Dueñas, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale) (A)
Elaine Martone
Bartók: String Quartet No.3; Suite From ‘The Miraculous Mandarin‘ (Franz Welser-Möst & The Cleveland Orchestra) (A)
Dvořák: Symphony No. 9, ‘From The New World’; American Suite (Nathalie Stutzmann & Atlanta Symphony Orchestra) (A)
Radiance Untethered – The Choral Music Of John Wykoff (Cameron F. Labarr & Missouri State University Chorale) (A)
Field 10: Production, Engineering, Composition & Arrangement
CATEGORY 83
Best Immersive Audio Album
For albums in any genre that provide a new immersive audio experience. Award to the immersive mix engineer, immersive mastering engineer, and immersive producer (if applicable).
Genius Loves Company — Michael Romanowski, Eric Schilling & Herbert Waltl, immersive mix engineers; Michael Romanowski, immersive mastering engineer; John Burk, immersive producer (Ray Charles With Various Artists)
A Composer’s Award for an original composition (not an adaptation) first released during the Eligibility Year. Singles or Tracks only.
“At Last” — Shelton G. Berg, composer (Shelly Berg)
“Communion” — Christopher Zuar, composer (Christopher Zuar Orchestra)
“I Swear, I Really Wanted To Make A “Rap” Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time” — André 3000, Surya Botofasina, Nate Mercereau & Carlos Niño, composers (André 3000)
“Remembrance” — Chick Corea, composer (Chick Corea & Béla Fleck)
“Strands” — Pascal Le Boeuf, composer (Akropolis Reed Quintet, Pascal Le Boeuf & Christian Euman)CATEGORY 85
Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella
An Arranger’s Award. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
“Baby Elephant Walk – Encore” — Michael League, arranger (Snarky Puppy)
“Bridge Over Troubled Water” — Jacob Collier, Tori Kelly & John Legend, arrangers (Jacob Collier Featuring John Legend & Tori Kelly)
“Rhapsody In Blue(Grass)” — Béla Fleck & Ferde Grofé, arrangers (Béla Fleck Featuring Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz & Bryan Sutton)
“Rose Without The Thorns” — Erin Bentlage, Alexander Lloyd Blake, Scott Hoying, A.J. Sealy & Amanda Taylor, arrangers (Scott Hoying Featuring säje & Tonality)
“Stravinsky: The Firebird” — Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor (San Francisco Symphony)
CATEGORY 88
Best Opera Recording
Award to the conductor, album producer(s), and principal soloists, and to the composer and librettist (if applicable) of a world premiere Opera recording only.
“Adams: Girls Of The Golden West” — John Adams, conductor; Paul Appleby, Julia Bullock, Hye Jung Lee, Daniela Mack, Elliot Madore, Ryan McKinny & Davóne Tines; Dmitriy Lipay, producer (Los Angeles Philharmonic; Los Angeles Master Chorale)
“Catán: Florencia En El Amazonas” — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Mario Chang, Michael Chioldi, Greer Grimsley, Nancy Fabiola Herrera, Mattia Olivieri, Ailyn Pérez & Gabriella Reyes; David Frost, producer (The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; The Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
“Moravec: The Shining” — Gerard Schwarz, conductor; Tristan Hallett, Kelly Kaduce & Edward Parks; Blanton Alspaugh, producer (Kansas City Symphony; Lyric Opera Of Kansas City Chorus)
“Puts: The Hours” — Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conductor; Joyce DiDonato, Renée Fleming & Kelli O’Hara; David Frost, producer (Metropolitan Opera Orchestra; Metropolitan Opera Chorus)
“Saariaho: Adriana Mater” — Esa-Pekka Salonen, conductor; Fleur Barron, Axelle Fanyo, Nicholas Phan & Christopher Purves; Jason O’Connell, producer (San Francisco Symphony; San Francisco Symphony Chorus; Timo Kurkikangas)
CATEGORY 89
Best Choral Performance
Award to the conductor, and to the choral director and/or chorus master where applicable and to the choral organization/ensemble.
“Clear Voices In The Dark” — Matthew Guard, conductor (Carrie Cheron, Nathan Hodgson, Helen Karloski & Clare McNamara; Skylark Vocal Ensemble)
“A Dream So Bright: Choral Music Of Jake Runestad” — Eric Holtan, conductor (Jeffrey Biegel; True Concord Orchestra; True Concord Voices)
“Handel: Israel in Egypt” — Jeannette Sorrell, conductor (Margaret Carpenter Haigh, Daniel Moody, Molly Netter, Jacob Perry & Edward Vogel; Apollo’s Fire; Apollo’s Singers)
“Ochre” — Donald Nally, conductor (The Crossing)
“Sheehan: Akathist” — Elaine Kelly, conductor; Melissa Attebury, Stephen Sands & Benedict Sheehan, chorus masters (Elizabeth Bates, Paul D’Arcy, Tynan Davis, Aine Hakamatsuka, Steven Hrycelak, Helen Karloski, Enrico Lagasca, Edmund Milly, Fotina Naumenko, Neil Netherly, Timothy Parsons, Stephen Sands, Miriam Sheehan & Pamela Terry; Novus NY; Artefact Ensemble, The Choir Of Trinity Wall Street, Downtown Voices & Trinity Youth Chorus)
CATEGORY 90
Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance
Award to the ensemble and conductor if applicable.
“Adams, J.L.: Waves & Particles” — JACK Quartet
“Beethoven For Three: Symphony No. 4 and Op. 97, ‘Archduke'” — Yo-Yo Ma, Leonidas Kavakos & Emanuel Ax
“Rectangles and Circumstance” — Caroline Shaw & Sō Percussion
CATEGORY 91
Best Classical Instrumental Solo
Award to the instrumental soloist(s) and to the conductor when applicable.
“Akiho: Longing” — Andy Akiho
“Bach: Goldberg Variations” — Víkingur Ólafsson
“Eastman: The Holy Presence Of Joan D’Arc” — Seth Parker Woods; Christopher Rountree, conductor (Wild Up)
“Entourer” — Mak Grgić (Ensemble Dissonance)
“Perry: Concerto For Violin & Orchestra” — Curtis Stewart; James Blachly, conductor (Experiential Orchestra)
CATEGORY 92
Best Classical Solo Vocal Album
Award to vocalist(s), collaborative artist(s) (e.g., pianists, conductors), producer(s), and recording engineers/mixers with greater than 50% playing time of new material.
Beyond The Years – Unpublished Songs Of Florence Price — Karen Slack, soloist; Michelle Cann, pianist
A Change Is Gonna Come — Nicholas Phan, soloist; Palaver Strings, ensembles
Award to the artist(s) and to the album producer(s) and engineer(s) of over 50% playing time of the album, and to the composer and librettist (if applicable) with over 50% playing time of a world premiere recording only.
Akiho: BeLonging — Andy Akiho & Imani Winds; Andy Akiho, Sean Dixon & Mark Dover, producers
American Counterpoints — Curtis Stewart; James Blachly, conductor; Blanton Alspaugh, producer
Foss: Symphony No. 1; Renaissance Concerto; Three American Pieces; Ode — JoAnn Falletta, conductor; Bernd Gottinger, producer
Mythologies II — Sangeeta Kaur, Omar Najmi, Hilá Plitmann, Robert Thies & Danaë Xanthe Vlasse; Michael Shapiro, conductor; Jeff Atmajian, Emilio D. Miler, Hai Nguyen, Robert Thies, Danaë Xanthe Vlasse & Kitt Wakeley, producers
A Composer’s Award. (For a contemporary classical composition composed within the last 25 years, and released for the first time during the Eligibility Year.) Award to the librettist, if applicable.
Casarrubios: Seven For Solo Cello — Andrea Casarrubios, composer (Andrea Casarrubios)
Lang: Composition As Explanation — David Lang, composer (Eighth Blackbird)
Ortiz: Revolución Diamantina — Gabriela Ortiz, composer (Gustavo Dudamel, Los Angeles Philharmonic & Los Angeles Master Chorale)
Saariaho: Adriana Mater — Kaija Saariaho, composer (Esa-Pekka Salonen, Fleur Barron, Nicholas Phan, Christopher Purves, Axelle Fanyo, San Francisco Symphony Chorus & Orchestra)
Culture Representation: Taking place in Durban, South Africa, on November 8, 1994, the documentary film “Whitney Houston – The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)” features a predominantly black group of people (and some white people) who are connected in some way to this concert.
Culture Clash: Superstar entertainer Whitney Houston performed at this stadium concert while privately struggling with a drug problem.
Culture Audience: “Whitney Houston – The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)” will appeal mainly to fans of Whitney Houston and people who want to watch pop music concerts performed when the artists were at the height of their careers.
Whitney Houston in “Whitney Houston – The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)” (Photo by Neal Preston/Trafalgar Releasing)
“Whitney Houston – The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)” is a worthy documentary showcase of Whitney Houston at the height of her fame in 1994. A few signs of her private struggles are noticeable, but it’s overall an enjoyable concert to watch. Die-hard fans will consider this documentary essential, but more casual fans might consider it optional to watch. In 2012, Houston died of a drug-related bathtub drowning when she was 48.
Directed by Marty Callner, “Whitney Houston – The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)” is an 102-minute documentary that only shows Houston on stage for her concert at Kings Park Stadium in Durban, South Africa, on November 8, 1994. It was the first major concert by a music celebrity since the post-apartheid South Africa that elected Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa. Sony Music Entertainment is releasing a companion Whitney Houston album titled “The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)” on November 8, 2024.
According to several non-fiction books, documentaries and public confessions of people who were close to her, Houston was abusing cocaine and marijuana during this period of time, but she didn’t publicly acknowledge her addictions until she checked into rehab in 2005. Although her extraordinary vocal talent is in top form at this concert, she stumbles over a few of the words while singing, and seems at a little spaced-out at times when talking to the audience. She also sweats a lot without doing a lot of vigorous dancing. Several times during the show, she has to wipe her sweaty face with a towel.
It’s not publicly known for sure if Houston was under the influence of drugs during this concert, but overall she carries herself professionally during the show. Her on-stage comments to the audience are generic but seem heartfelt. Early on in the concert, she says, “It’s so good to be at home. Hello, hello, hello. Hello, my loves.”
Houston goes through four wardrobe changes throughout the show: First, she wears an all-violet ensemble of a turtleneck blouse, trousers and sequined blazer. Then she wears the iconic gold gown and turban that is the outfit she is most associated with for this concert. After that, Houston does an encore wearing an all-red sparkly dress. She concludes the concert with a gold brocade blouse and black skirt.
Her on-stage commentary is intermittent but is mostly about giving and receiving love. She also says, “I have been all over the world, but never have I felt such love and affection as I have in South Africa.” Houston also acknowledges and thanks the other people on stage, such as her backup singers, musicians and dancers. She also singles out and gives thanks to her mother Cissy Houston (who was a choir director of Tu Nokwe’s Amajika Performing Arts choir for the performance of “Touch the World”) and musical director/guitarist Rickey Minor.
As for the songs, the expected hits are performed, often in extended versions. The highlights include “I Have Nothing” and “I Will Always Love You,” two of the hit singles from the blockbuster soundtrack to 1992’s “The Bodyguard.” Other hits that she sang at the concert include “Saving All My Love for You,” “How Will I Know?,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “Greatest Love of All,” “Queen of the Night” and the gospel standard “Jesus Loves Me.” As a concert documentary, “Whitney Houston – The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)” can stand as a testament to the unparalleled vocal talent and on-stage charisma of an artist at the top of her game.
Here is the set list for “Whitney Houston – The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)”:
Love’s in Need of Love Today
So Emotional
Love Will Save the Day
Saving All My Love for You
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)
“How Will I Know
I Love You/All at Once/Where You Are medley
Lover for Life
Queen of the Night
I Have Nothing
Touch the World (performed with Cissy Houston and Tu Nokwe’s Amajika Performing Arts choir)
Love Is
Jesus Loves Me
Amazing Grace
Master Blaster (Jammin’)
I Will Always Love You
I’m Every Woman
Greatest Love of All
Home
I’m Every Woman (Reprise)
Trafalgar Releasing released “Whitney Houston – The Concert for a New South Africa (Durban)” for a limited engagement in U.S. cinemas on October 23 and October 27, 2024.
Culture Representation: The documentary film “Piece by Piece” features Grammy-winning artist Pharrell Williams and other people who know him telling his life story, in Lego anination form.
Culture Clash: Williams, a self-described music nerd, spent years struggling to break into the music industry, eventually found hitmaking success as one-half of the production duo the Neptunes and as a solo artst, and overcame a professional slump in the late 2000s for a major comeback in the early 2010s.
Culture Audience: “Piece by Piece” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Pharrell Williams and documentaries about people who create mainstream pop music hits.
Pharrell Williams and Gwen Stefani in “Piece by Piece” (Image courtesy of Focus Features)
Pharrell Williams’ life story presented as a Lego animation documentary could have been a cynical and superficial cash grab. “Piece by Piece” is actually insightful, soulful and a delight to watch. It’s an entertaining kaleidoscope of sights and sounds where each interview subject’s personality shines through, despite being shown as a Lego toy.
Directed by Morgan Neville (who is also the documentary’s interviewer), “Piece by Piece” had its world premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. The documentary’s visuals are great, and the music is very engaging, but they wouldn’t be as effective if the interviews weren’t candid. For example, he admits he’s always been afraid of having success as a solo artist. Williams says he reluctantly recorded his 2003 solo song “Frontin'” after he sent it to Prince, who didn’t respond.
Williams (who was born in 1973) was raised in his birth city of Virginia Beach, Virginia. He says he was a shy and insecure child, who never felt like he fit in anywhere except when he was listening to music or watching TV. He was also a big fan of Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” science series. “I don’t know where it’s from,” Williams says, “but I always knew I was different.” He comments on being a loner as a child: “I was detached. I was in dreamland.”
Williams says that television became a magical place where he could escape to and let his imagination run wild. Although he didn’t mind being a loner, he was sensitive about what people thought of him. Williams comments that if people thought of him, “He’s an oddball,” then “that crushed my spirit.”
Williams declares that he knew from an early age that he wanted to make music and be in the music industry, but he often felt frustrated by the lack of opportunities in Virginia Beach, compared to bigger cities such as New York City, Los Angeles or Atlanta. He describes himself as a teenager as someone who spent many hours alone in his room, feeling transported to different worlds by the music he was listening to at the time. Growing up in a beach city, Williams says he’s had a lifelong fascination with the ocean and is particularly fixated on the fictional ocean kingdom of Atlantis.
When he was a teenager, his passion for music led him to meet and befriend another self-described “music nerd” named Chad Hugo, who is also interviewed in “Piece by Piece.” Williams and Hugo had a special chemistry working together as a music producer duo called the Neptunes. They also performed as a rock duo called N.E.R.D.
Hugo’s interview for the documentary was apparently done before his legal battle with Williams. In March 2024, Hugo sued Williams over their agreement that they would co-own the Neptunes’ name. In the lawsuit, Hugo accuses Williams of trying get to sole ownership of the name without Hugo’s consent. The lawsuit is not mentioned in the documentary. In a “Piece by Piece” interview, Williams descrbes Hugo as a “saint.”
Even though Virginia Beach is not a major hub in the music industry, some of Williams’ musical peers from Virginia Beach went on to have international success as hitmakers, including hip-hop star Missy Elliott and music producer/artis Timbaland, whose real name is Timothy Mosley. They are both interviewed for “Piece by Piece.”
The hits written and produced by Williams as part of the Neptunes or as a solo artist make up the soundtracks of many people’s lives. His first breakout hit was Wreckx-N-Effect’s 1992 single “Rump Shaker,” co-written by Teddy Riley, who got to know Williams after Riley set up a recording studio in Virginia Beach. Williams remembers this recording studio being a big deal because it was rare for a major star such as Riley to choose Virginia Beach as the headquarters for the star’s music production facilities.
Williams is also a writer and/or producer for Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” Mystikal’s “Shake Ya Ass,” Justin Timberlake’s “Rock Your Body,” Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines,” Kelis’ “Milkshake,” Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl,” No Doubt’s “Hella Good,” and Jay-Z’s “Give It to Me.” As a solo artist, Williams is best known for his Oscar-nominated song “Happy” (from 2013’s “Despicable Me 2”) and Daft Punk’s Grammy-winning 2013 smash hit “Get Lucky.”
Among the people interviewed in the documentary are artists who made hits with Williams, such as Jay-Z, Riley, Stefani, Timberlake, Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, Elliott, N.O.R.E. and Busta Rhymes. Behind-the-scenes music industry people who are interviewed include former Vibe magazine editor Mimi Valdés, who know works as a film producer with Williams; music executive Jimmy Iovine; songwriter Tammy Lucas; Deep Zen monk Kosho Loïc Vuillemin; music executive Jon Platt; and music manager Rob Walker, who introduced N.O.R.E. to the Neptunes. Williams and Valdés (who are two of the producers of “Piece by Piece”) were Oscar-nominated for Best Picture for being among the producers for 2016’s “Hidden Figures.”
Williams is particularly open about his love life and will only discuss his courtship and marriage to model/fashion designe Helen Lasichanh, whom he married in 2013. They have four kids: a son named Rocket (born in 2008) and triplets (born in 2017), whose names have been kept private. Lasichanh does a rare interview for the documentary. She describes Williams as the pursuer in their courtship, but she says it took him years before he said he was ready to commit to marriage. Williams is briefly seen in the documentary interacting with his kids as a doting father, who calls his son “sir.”
Also interviewed are Pharrell’s parents Pharoah Williams and Carolyn Williams, who says that they taught Pharrell the values of hard work. Carolyn also said on the partnership between Pharrell and Hugo: “To see them together, it was like they read each other’s minds.” Another family member interviewed is Bishop Ezekiel Williams (Pharrell’s uncle), who says that Pharrell’s paternal grandmother had a dream that Pharrell was lifted up and was given a special gift by God.
When someone has family members telling these stories, it should come as no surprise that someone might get a huge ego for it. Pharrell admits that his ego became enormous with all of his success, but he was humbled in the late 2000s, when he had a string of flops with audiences and critics. His comeback include career highs with “Happy” and “Get Lucky.”
Although Pharrell is also known for his business forays in the fashion industry, that part of his life isn’t really in the documentary. Don’t expect to hear stories about his fashion brands Bllionaire Boys Club and ICECREAM, or becoming creative director for Louis Vuitton’s men’s fashion, a position he was appointed to in 2023. His movie projects are also not gviven a spotlight in this documentary. “Piece by Piece” is a music-focused docmentary that gives some interesting stories about how Pharrell makes music, his life’s highs and lows and what other people have to say about him. Music is Pharrell’s first love. And “Piece by Piece” is a unique and charismatic way to share that love with an audience.
Focus Features released “Piece by Piece” in U.S. cinemas on October 11, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place at La Seine Musicale in Paris during the autumn of 2023,the concert documentary film “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” has a racially diverse group of people (black, white, Asian, and Latin) who are on stage and in the audience.
Culture Clash: American superstar Usher performs in Paris during Paris Fashion Week.
Culture Audience: “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Usher and people who like high-energy concert documentaries and don’t mind seeing dance moves and song performances that have adult sexual themes.
Usher in “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” (Photo courtesy of AMC Theatres Distribution and Trafalgar Releasing)
“Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” delivers exactly what you think it should for a high-energy, sexually suggestive concert documentary of Usher performing in Paris. It’s a competently made film but iit has no surprises and isn’t extraordinary. This is a movie made for Usher’s fans who want familiarity, include the expected set list of his greatest hits.
Directed by Anthony Mandler, the documentary was filmed during Paris Fashion Week (September 25 to October 3) in 2023, when Usher (the Atlanta native whose full name is Usher Raymond) did a concert stint at La Seine Musicale. The concert, which is divided into six chapters, has filmed interludes of Usher walking around in a fedora on the streets of Paris (sometimes with smoke effects on the streets), with voiceover narration of Usher saying poetry-like ramblings about a mystery woman who’s on his mind. “I couldn’t resist the temptation to seduce her,” Usher says in the dialogue.
These interludes come across as both a little bit pretentious and a little corny, with lines such as “I cam to find something. A touch. A taste. A flame.” And “I was a victim of my own imagination … Was she ambitious or just cold? … Was it really love or just my pride? The fairytale is crumbling. I bet and I lost. I was waiting for something to happen, something violent, something dreadful.” Fortunately, these interludes are short and don’t take away from the main attraction: seeing Usher perform in concert. About 85% of the audience consists of women, most of whom seem to be in adoring awe of Usher
Usher knows he’s a sex symbol and plays it up to the hilt, including simulating sexual foreplay and doing a lot of grinding with several of his female backup dancers. One dancer, clad in a G-string and dominatrix gear, outright simulates S&M sex with Usher. During “Bad Girl,” the female dancers perform on stripper poles and twerk. It would probably be more offensive to some if most of the audience consisted of children, but the concert audience in this movie are mostly women in their 20s, 30s and 40s.
Some viewers might notice that Usher’s female dancers, not his male dancers, are the once who have to be scantily clad as they prance and strut around on stage. But it’s all very calculated: If Usher had his male dancers be too much eye candy the audience, that would take attention away from him, the star of the show. One of the concert highlights is when Usher and his backup dancers glide and twirl around on roller skates, which is a lot harder than it looks.
Usher’s vocals are in fine form, as he belts out his hits like a seasoned pro. He’s also not afraid to work up a sweat. The set list includes several hits spanning his entire career so far, including “Caught Up,” “My Boo,” U Remind Me,” “U Make Me Wanna…,” “U Got It Bad,” “Nice and Slow,” “Burn,” “Confessions Part II” and “OMG.” Predictably, Usher saves his biggest hit (“Yeah!”) for near the end of the set. Unpredictably, he ends the set by performing David Guetta’s “Without You.” Simply put: “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” is the concert equivalent of sexy comfort food for people who know exactly what they’re getting.
Here is the complete song list for “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris”:
DJ Got Us Falling in Love
Caught Up
U Don’t Have to Call
Love in This Club
Party
Birthday Song
How Low
Thick
Lil Freak
Lovers and Friends
Forever Yours
Superstar
Big
Ruin
She Came to Give It to You
Get in My Car
A-Town Girl
No Limit
I Don’t Mind
Bad Girl
My Boo
There Goes My Baby
Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)
U Remind Me
U Make Me Wanna…
Come Thru
Creep
Bad Habits
U Got It Bad
Nice & Slow
Confessions Part II
OMG
Yeah!
Without You
Good Kisser
Downtime
Climax
Burn
Scream
Can You Feel It
Good Good
AMC Theatres Distribution and Trafalgar Releasing released “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris” in U.S. cinemas for a limited engagement from September 12 to September 15, 2024.
Culture Representation: Taking place in the late 2010s in Belfast, Northern Ireland, the comedy/drama “Kneecap” (a biopic of the rap group of the same name) features a predominantly white cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A schoolteacher and two hoodlums become unlikely musical partners in Kneecap, a rap trio that causes controversy for its pro-Irish, anti-British rhetoric.
Culture Audience: “Kneecap” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of the movie’s headliners and biopics about rebellious underdogs.
Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh and JJ Ó Dochartaigh in “Kneecap” (Photo by Ryan Kernaghan/Sony Pictures Classics)
The comedy/drama “Kneecap” is partly a musical biopic, partly a call for Irish pride, and partly a celebration of rebellious hedonism. The members of Kneecap credibly portray versions of themselves. This isn’t the type of movie where it looks like the non-professional actors are struggling to keep up with the professional actors. This is a movie where everyone performs in a seamless and realistic way that might make some people squirm but it will be hard for viewers to look away.
Written and directed by Rich Peppiatt, “Kneecap” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival (where it won the NEXT Audience Award) and later premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film &TV Festival and the 2024 Tribeca Festival. The movie (which takes place in the late 2010s in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is an origin story of Kneecap but also a ragtag history lesson on the fight for the United Kingdom to make Irish an official language in Northern Ireland.
The voiceover narrator of “Kneecap” is Mo Chara (the stage name of Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, who plays a version of himself in the movie), who is heard telling a wild story something that happened in the youth of his best friend/musical partner Móglaí Bap (also known as Naoise Ó Cairealláin, who plays a version of himself in the movie). According to Mo Chara, the baptism of Móglaí Bap happened outdoors in a wooded area at night.
Móglaí Bap’s parents Arló Ó Cairealláin (played by Michael Fassbender) and Dolores Ó Cairealláin (played by Simone Kirby) are caught off guard when a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) helicopter suddenly appears in the air to take Arló into custody? Why? Because Arló is an outlaw Irish Republican Army (IRA) member, who is considered to be a terrorist.
It’s later explained that Arló abandoned the family and went into hiding. He didn’t contact Móglaí Bap/Naoise and Dolores for years. Eventually, Arló was presumed dead and a funeral service/memorial was held for him. There’s a running joke in the movie about Arló’s mysterious disappearance. Chara says of Móglaí Bap/Naoise’s chaotic childhood: “I mean, what fucking chance did the wee boy have?”
“Kneecap” has a lot of surrealistic imagery that’s meant to be a reflection of the drug-addled perspective of the Kneecap protagonists. The movie has a constant stream of scenes where drug abuse is either mentioned or shown. After a while, it gets a tad annoying because “Kneecap” over-relies on drug jokes and comes dangerously close to making it overtake the story when there are much more interesting aspects to these characters.
As kids at about 7 or 8 years old, Móglaí Bap/Naoise (played by Aidan McCaughey) and Mo Chara/Liam (played by Cillian Kernan) irst come into contact with drugs when they’re on a street and a drug dealer, who’s being chased by police on foot, throws a bag of marijuana at bystanders Naoise and Liam to get rid of this evidence.
The police run by without knowing that the two boys now have this drug dealer’s marijuana stash. As a prank, altar boys Liam and Naoise spiked the communion juice with this marijuana at their church. An adult Liam then smugly says in a voiceover: “Next Sunday, the congregation doubled.”
As young adults, Liam and Naoise are drug-abusing partiers and small-time drug dealers who spend a lot of time in nightclubs. Naoise and Liam are very proud of their Northern Irish heritage and prefer to speak Irish instead of English. The two pals are at a nightclub that gets raided. Naoise (who is high on ketamine) escapes. Liam (who’s high on Ecstasy) gets arrested.
Liam is brought in for interrogation at a police station, which has provided an Irish-language interpreter named JJ Ó Dochartaigh (playing a version of himself), who has a day job as music teacher at a local high school. During this interrogation, JJ notices that Liam has a notebook, which has handwritten lyrics as well as a sheet of psychedelic drugs. JJ takes the sheet of drugs home with him because he likes to get high too. JJ hides his drug use from his co-workers, his students and his loyal wife Caitlin (played by Fionnuala Flaherty), who still suspects that JJ has secrets.
Liam is eventually released from police custody. When he reunites with Naoise, these two troublemakers continue to raise some hell. While on a street one day, Liam sees some Royal Irish Rangers, a light infantry regiment of the British Army considered to be the enemy of the IRA. Liam insults these Rangers, who then chase him on foot on the street.
JJ happens to be on driving on the same street when he sees that Liam is in trouble. JJ comes to the rescue by giving Liam a car ride to escape from the Rangers. They soon meet up with Naoise. JJ tells Naoise and Liam that he saw the lyrics in Liam’s notebook and thinks that Liam has real talent. JJ suggests that they make rap music to the lyrics in the Irish language.
At first, Naoise and Liam are skeptical and laugh at the idea because they think the chances are slim to not that an Irish-language rap act can make it big. But when JJ mentions that he has a small recording studio that Naoise and Liam can use, Naoise and Liam take up JJ on his offer, and the three of them end up forming a musical group called Kneecap.
JJ becomes Kneecap’s DJ (with the stage name DJ Próvai) and wears a ski mask when performing with Kneecap in public, because he doesn’t want people who know he’s a schoolteacher to find out that he’s been moonlighting in this radical rap group. Kneecap’s recording sessions are drug-fueled binges where they write songs and make music in between using drugs such as cocaine, marijuana, Ecstasy and ketamine.
“Kneecap” has a subplot about Liam getting sexually involved with a domineering and sassy young woman named Georgia (played by Jessica Reynolds), who likes to act as if she doesn’t really like Liam. She uses light S&M techniques on him during their sexual encounters to show him that she’s the one who’s in charge in their relationship. Liam is relatively inexperienced and tolerates it all because he falls in love with Georgia.
And what a coincidence: Georgia’s mother is Detective Ellis (played by Josie Walker), the same officer who’s leading the investigation to find Arló and to bust the drug dealing of Naoise and Liam. Detective Ellis doesn’t believe that Arló is really dead. And neither should viewers of “Kneecap,” since there’s no way a movie like this would have a star like Fassbender and just have him do a few flashbacks scenes as a cameo. The truth of what happened to Arló is eventually revealed in “Kneecap.”
“Kneecap” is about as “in your face” as it gets when it comes to depicting the sex, drugs and hip-hop lifestyle if Kneecap. There’s also a subplot about Naoise and Liam clashing with members of an activist group called Radical Republicans Against Drugs. A lot of it is played for laughs and should not be take too seriously. However, some viewers might be offended if they think the movie makes this hedonism look glamorous. If anything, the movie probably tones down or leaves out a lot of naughty things that really go on behind the scenes with Kneecap.
As for the music, whether or not a viewer likes rap, the performances (especially on stage) are electrifying. (Kneecap songs on the “Kneecap” soundtrack are “Belfast,” “C.E.A.R.T.A.,” “H.O.O.D.,” “Amach Anocht,” “Sick in the Head,” “Better Way to Live (featuring Grian Chatten), “Guilty Conscience,” “Thart Agus Thart” and “Parful.”) Even the admitted hooligans of Kneecap have a purpose that’s bigger than just getting wasted on drugs. They see themselves as staunch warriors of Irish pride who advocate for adding the Irish language as an official language in Northern Ireland instead of having only English as Northern Ireland’s official language. The story of “Kneecap” takes place during the controversies of turning this initiative into the law.
The slapstick comedy and serious political commentary don’t always blend well together in “Kneecap.” However, the principal cast members’ performances work quite well with the movie’s often madcap tone. Fassbender, who doesn’t do a lot of comedies, looks like he’s having a lot of fun in this role as a deadbeat dad who think he’s made sacrifices for a noble cause. “Kneecap” is perhaps most relatable to a specific audience who is at least familiar with Northern Irish culture. However, the movie can also be recommended viewing for anyone who likes bawdy comedies about “underdogs” who find a way to triumph against an oppressive system.
Sony Pictures Classics released “Kneecap” in U.S. cinemas on August 2, 2024. The movie was released in Ireland on August 8, 2024.
Culture Representation: The documentary “Eno” features award-winning British music producer/artist Brian Eno talking about his career and outlook on life.
Culture Clash: After getting critical acclaim and big hits for his work with rock artists such as David Bowie and U2, Eno got a lot of criticism for his solo ambient music, which many critics described as self-indulgent and wimpy.
Culture Audience: Besides appealing to the obvious target audience of Eno fans, “Eno” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching documentaries about underrated musicians.
Brian Eno in “Eno” (Photo courtesy of Film First)
The highly unique documentary “Eno” is a fascinating look into the creative mind of music producer/artist Brian Eno. Showing different versions of the movie at various screenings doesn’t seem gimmicky and is actually as bold and visionary as Eno himself. This particular review of “Eno” is for the version of the documentary that was shown at Film Forum in New York City on July 26, 2024. The theatrical release of “Eno” in select cities around the world has a different version of the documentary for every day that the movie is shown at the screening venue. Each version of the documentary will never be shown again.
“Eno” is directed by Gary Hustwit, who is also one of the film’s producers. Releasing different and changing versions of “Eno” not only involves commendable imagination but also a deep commitment to long hours of altering the film editing, in order to keep the movie dynamic and fresh. Most filmmakers would not do this extensive work or take this risk for any of their movies.
“Eno” had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and screened at the 2024 editions of Sheffield DocFest and the Nantucket Film Festival. One of the ways that you know you’re watching a unique version of the documentary is that some of the transition editing between scenes shows flashes of captions with the name of the venue where you are seeing the film. The film editing throughout “Eno” is somewhat artsy but not pretentious.
Another unique aspect of “Eno” is that a different famous person does a few quick interludes (about 10 seconds each) in each version of the movie. For the version watched for this review, former Talking Heads lead singer David Byrne is seen taking a small card (the size of a game card) out of a box and reading it to the viewing audience. In one of these interludes, which sounds like a call for intermission, Byrne says (as if talking to whoever’s watching the documentary) that it’s time to take a break. At the very end of the film, Byrne does this card demonstration agan and says, “Go outside. Close the door.” Avant-garde singer Laurie Anderson is another celebrity who does similar interludes in another version of this documentary.
Eno is the only person interviewed for this documentary, which consists of a wealth of archival footage, interspersed with the interviews that Eno did exclusively for this film at and near his home in England. In the documentary, he comes across as a somewhat introverted deep thinker, who is comfortable with technology and with nature. He freely admits that he has workaholic ways when it comes to being in the studio. And when it comes to creating or discussing music or other art, he thinks a lot of about philosophical and sociological issues.
Eno was born on May 15, 1948, in Melton, England. The documentary does not dwell too long on his childhood and teenage years or discuss what his life was like at home or at school. His parents and younger brother Roger Eno (who is also a musician) are not mentioned at all.
Instead, the version of the documentary that was seen for this review has Eno talking about the songs and artists who were his biggest musical influences as a child, starting with two hits from 1957: Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti” and the Silhouettes’ “Get a Job.” Eno says in the documentary that he was immediately enraptured by the singers’ voices and melodies. Eno comments, “It took a long time to realize that this was American black music.”
Eno says his sexual awakening as a teenager could be traced back to hearing Ketty Lester’s 1961 hit single “Love Letters.” In the documentary, Eno says he became immediately fascinated by Lester’s sultry voice and had the type of instant crush where he felt like he wanted to get to know her and similar women. Eno doesn’t talk about his two marriages (to ex-wife Sarah Grenville and to his second and current wife Anthea Norman-Taylor, whom he married in 1988), but the documentary has an archival 1990s interview where Eno talks about how having children (he has three) made him change his work priorities to not take jobs that would keep him away for home for too long.
As for Eno’s impressive body of work, the version of the “Eno” documentary that was watched for this review focused mostly on his producing work for David Bowie and U2, as well as Eno’s solo projects. Eno’s work with Roxy Music and the Talking Heads are also featured, but don’t get as much screen time. There’s an archival clip from the late 1970s where Eno calls the Talking Heads “music of the future.” Eno produced three of the Talking Heads’ classic albums: 1978’s “More Songs About Buildings and Food,” 1979’s “Fear of Music” and 1980’s “Remain in Light.”
In the documentary, Eno discusses how starting his music career in the 1960s had a tremendous impact on him because it was during an era when many British rock artists were former art school students, which gelled with Eno’s idea that the best music and visual art are creatively intertwined. He mentions British bands such as the Beatles, the Who and Pink Floyd as among those whose art-school influences were manifested in the band’s visual presentations.
Eno and Tony Visconti produced Bowie’s 1977 albums “Low” and “Heroes” and 1979’s “Lodger”—all recorded in Berlin, during a transitional time in Bowie’s life when he was trying to clean up his drug-fueled lifestyle. In the documentary, Eno still sounds in awe of Bowie’s vocals for the song “Heroes” and how Bowie perfectly expressed the vulnerable yet strong tone that Eno wanted for the song. In an archival interview from the 1990s, Bowie says it’s hard to define Eno’s style as a producer, but that Eno is highly collaborative and open to musical experimenting.
Eno’s biggest album hits have been with rock band U2, the most commercially successful music artist from Ireland. Eno-produced U2 albums are arguably U2’s best albums: 1984’s “The Unforgettable Fire,” 1987’s “The Joshua Tree,” 1991’s “Achtung Baby,” 1993’s “Zooropa” and 2000’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind.” Daniel Lanois produced all of these albums with Eno, except for “Zooropa,” which was produced by Eno and Mark “Flood” Ellis.
The “Eno” documentary has rare footage of Eno in the studio with U2 for “The Unforgettable Fire” and “The Joshua Tree.” “The Unforgettable Fire” footage is more extensive, as it shows part of the recording of “Pride (In the Name of Love),” which would end up being the album’s first single. It’s a song about civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
In “The Unforgettable Fire” footage, Eno politely interrupts U2 lead singer Bono during the recording of the intense vocals because Eno thinks something seems off-kilter with the song. Eno suggests they slow down the song’s tempo. They try it again with a slower tempo, and it works to everyone’s liking. The footage shows Bono sitting on a couch and listening to the playback with an expression on his face indicating that he knows how special this song is, and he’s happy with this recorded version, which is what ended up on the album.
Eno also talks candidly about the mixed reactions that he’s gotten for his solo albums of ambient music. He says he was hurt by negative reviews from critics and how the term “Eno-esque” became a description for music that was considered to be “wimpy.” Eno confesses that he was so affected by this criticism, he wanted to distance himself from ambient music.
It led to what Eno calls “the biggest mistake of music career.” Eno doesn’t name the year that this happened, but he said that around the time that he grew sick of being seen as an ambient artist, Joni Mitchell called him and asked him to do an all-ambient album with her. He politely declined the offer, which is a rejection that he says he now regrets, and he would now love to do an ambient album with her. Eno says with a chuckle: “Joni, I’m still here. I’m ready.”
“Eno” has several scenes of Eno in his home recording studio, where he has several computer monitors hooked up to his keyboard. If the songs he talks about have music videos or live performances on YouTube, he’d rather play what’s on YouTube instead of audio versions of the songs. Eno comments on making music, which he compares to evolution in nature: “I always think about that happens in nature,” he says. He later comments, “I’ve always drawn on my experience of rural life and watching how nature works.”
When Eno isn’t making music in the studio (which he says he prefers infinitely more than doing live performances), he likes to read books or putter around in his garden. There’s a scene where Eno takes photos of insects on the leaves of one of his plants. At first, he thinks they’re tiny spiders, but on further examination, he sees that the insects are beetles. Eno makes an analogy of creating a song to being like planting a flower seed: “I created things that will carry on and have [their] own life.”
One of the best aspects of “Eno” is that it’s not a typical celebrity documentary that follows the usual formula of showing the celebrity’s rise to fame and any pitfalls the celebrity experienced along the way. Viewers of “Eno” are invited to look at the bigger picture of what music can mean to the artists who make this art form in ways that have more meaning beyond fame, fortune and awards. Eno has a lot to say about it.
Eno comments in the documentary: “Why do we like music? I never lost interest in answering that question.” He likens a music scene to being an ecosystem: “If you take one person out of it, it has far-reaching effects.” Eno also talks about the importance of live concert experiences being nourishing for human souls because humans have a natural instinct to want to be part of something social.
As for why he likes creating music, Eno comments: “It’s my way of creating a space for myself. It’s a way of entering another world.” Although Eno says that he often wakes up each day feeling pressure or worry about what he will be creating that day, those feelings are eclipsed by what he feels when he’s actually creating music and other art. “Eno” is not the type of documentary that is interested in tabloid gossip or scandalous stories, like many other celebrity documentaries. It’s a thoughtful and well-edited portrait that—just like music artists who never perform the same concert twice—is meant to be ephemeral and special to the people who experienced it.
Film First released “Eno” in New York City and in London on July 12, 2024. The movie’s theatrical release has limited engagements on varying dates in select cities around the world.
A 1970s archival photo of Cymande in “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande.” Pictured from left to right: Pablo Gonsales, Patrick Patterson, Mike “Bammi” Rose (half-kneeling, in front), Derrick Gibbs, Steve Scipio and Sam Kelly. (Photo courtesy of Abramorama)
Culture Representation: The documentary “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” features a predominantly black group of people (with a few white people) discussing the career of the British R&B/funk band Cymande, which is best known for the band’s music that was released from 1972 to 1974.
Culture Clash: Cymande received critical acclaim for their music in the 1970s but was prevented from achieving major star status because the band was mostly ignored by radio stations and other media.
Culture Audience: “Cymande” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching documentaries about underrated musicians.
A 1970s archival photo of Cymande in “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande.” Pictured from left to right: Patrick Patterson, Michael “Bammi” Rose, Steve Scipio, Sam Kelly, Derrick Gibbs and Pablo Gonsales. (Photo courtesy of Abramorama)
“Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” takes viewers on a ride of highs, lows and everything in between when telling the story of the R&B/funk band Cymande, which is pronounced “sih-mahn-day.” If you want to know why the 1970s British band Cymande didn’t become as well-known as American counterparts such as Parliament-Funkadelic, this illuminating documentary tells a fascinating, heart-wrenching and informative story. The movie gives viewers who are unfamiliar with Cymande an exploration of the band’s music from different perspectives, including how Cymande’s music influenced later generations. The documentary has previously unreleased archival material, exclusive interviews filmed for the movie, and performance footage of Cymande’s reunited lineup.
Directed by Tim MacKenzie-Smith, “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” had its world premiere at the 2022 SXSW Film & TV Festival, followed by a U.K. premiere at the 2022 BFI London Film Festival. One of the reasons why many music fans have never heard of Cymande is because the band’s first incarnation lasted for only three years—from 1971 to 1974—which was the period of time when the Cymande made its most influential music. The band’s name comes from a calypso word for “dove.”
Cymande received critical acclaim for the band’s music but struggled to have a major breakthrough. Cymande disbanded in 1974, because the band members were broke and needed to get day jobs to financially survive and support their families. The band briefly reunited in 2006, before calling it quits again. Cymande reunited again in 2012 and was still together when this documentary was released.
In the 1970s, Cymande had a changing lineup, but there were six core members who remained consistent to the group: lead singer/guitarist Patrick Patterson, saxophonist/flautist Michael “Bammi” Rose, bassist Steve Scipio, drummer Sam Kelly, saxophonist Derrick Gibbs and percussionist Pablo Gonsales. All six of these members are interviewed in the documentary, which began filming in 2017. Gonsales died in 2020, at the age of 77. An epilogue title card mentions his death and says the documentary is dedicated to him. In the documentary, Gonsales is the band’s extroverted jokester, who also talks a lot of being in tune with nature.
Told in mostly chronological order, “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” gives cultural context to the band’s origins in South London, by discussing how all of the band’s core members came from families who immigrated from the Caribbean. Patterson (the unofficial leader of Cymande) comments on why their parents immigrated to England: “England was not simply the mother country; it was the place to go to maximize our potential.”
But what happens when that potential is blocked by racism? Patterson describes how his father was a trained baker in Jamaica, but in England, he was rejected for bakery jobs by racist employers who didn’t want black employees in baker positions. Unfortunately for Cymande, racism and xenophobia played a damaging role in preventing the band from getting the same type of exposure on radio stations and television that other music artists selling out the same sizes of venues usually got.
According to several the members of Cymande, the British media’s prejudice against Cymande was based on the band’s race and (ironically) the band’s nationality. Cymande couldn’t get radio airplay or bookings on British TV shows that showed preferential treatment to white artists. The few R&B bands that played their own instruments that did get those slots were almost always American. To this day, it’s still very difficult for a British R&B/funk band to achieve worldwide success.
Cymande was discovered by British music producer John Schroeder, who died in 2017, at the age of 82. Cymande signed to Schroeder’s record company Alaska Records in the United Kingdom, and Janus Records in the United States. Cymande released three albums in the 1970s: 1972’s “Cymande,” 1973’s “Second Time Round” and 1974’s “Promised Heights,” all produced by Schroeder.
The song “The Message,” from the band’s first album, was a minor hit, but could not get further momentum because it wasn’t getting a lot of radio airplay. This was during an era when radio airplay was essential for artists to have mainstream hits, and the Internet did not exist for artists to market themselves. Years later, when Cymande’s music became popular for sampling on other artists’ music, “The Message” was rediscovered when it was featured in Masta Ace’s 1990 hit “Me and the Biz.”
Even though the media in the United Kingdom mostly ignored Cymande, the band seemed to be on the verge of a major breakthrough in the United States when Cymande was selected to be the opening act for Al Green’s 1972 U.S. tour, which played at arenas. It was the first time that Cymande had ever toured in America. And performing in front of thousands of people a night was a heady experience.
In the documentary, several of the band members look back on this tour with great fondness and say they appreciate how fans in America were so welcoming to Cymande. But those are bittersweet memories, because after the tour with Green ended, Cymande went back to the United Kingdom, where they were still treated like “nobodies” by the media and the music industry.
After two more albums and still no breakthrough, Cymande called it quits in 1974. (Cymande’s 1981 studio album “Arrival” was a collection of throwaway tracks that were recorded in 1974.) By 1974, most of the band members had become husbands and fathers and needed more stable incomes than being musicians in debt.
Patterson, who became a lawyer, says that going from the cusp of music stardom to working in “normal” jobs was not necessarily an easy transition for the former Cymande members, but it had to be done. He explains, “We didn’t go off the road to go on the dole [British slang for government welfare]. We just found a different way of contributing to our community.”
Not all of the members of Cymande completely quit being professional musicians in the 1980s to 2000s. In the 1980s, saxophonist Rose was a backup musician for the reggae band Aswad and later for Paul Simon’s “Graceland” tour. He then formed a band called Jazz Warrior. And since 1999, Rose has been part of the studio band for the BBC music show “Later… with Jools Holland.”
The second half of the “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” focuses mostly on how Cymande music influenced various music artists who had their big breakthrough hits in the 1990s or 2000s. Cymande became one of those obscure bands that most people never heard of but was discovered and appreciated by true music aficionados. Those who are interviewed in the documentary include music producer Mark Ronson, Masta Ace, DJ/producer Louie Vega, Prince Paul, DJ/producer Cut Chemist, Ozomatli bassist Wil-Dog Abers; Jazzie B (of Soul II Soul fame) and former De La Soul member DJ Maseo.
Expect to hear a lot of gushing fan commentary from artists who admire Cymande’s music. Norman Jay, a nightclub/radio DJ, has this to say about Cymande: “They’re the first band that had come along that tapped all of my cultural buttons. Their music isn’t frivolous. It’s not throwaway. It’s thought-about, provokes reaction. It’s challenging. It confronts you and makes you dance.”
My Morning Jacket lead singer Jim James is seen in the beginning of the documentary giving his personal Cymande testimonial about how he discovered the band. James says that he loved the Fugees’ 1996 album “The Score,” especially the title track. Sometime in 2006, James says he found out that “The Score” song sampled Cymande’s song “Dove.”
After hearing “Dove,” James remembers: “I was forever changed. That song, to me, is so profoundly important, it almost eclipses everything. It’s like a magic spell.” Ronson adds his thoughts on “Dove” in a separate interview: “It really feels otherworldly, like it came down on a spaceship or something.”
In the documentary, Kool DJ Red Alert and DJ Hollywood say in separate interviews that the Cymande song “Bra” was very influential to them. Also giving Cymande praise in the documentary are DJ/club promoter Nicky Siano; skateboarder/musician Tommy Guerrero; DJ/producer Peanut Butter Wolf; radio DJ Deb Grant; Collen “Cosmo” Murphy, curator of Classic Album Sundays; rapper Loyle Carner; Khruangbin members Mark Speer, Laura Lee and Donald “DJ” Johnson Jr.; Ruthless Rap Assassins members Anderson Hinds, Carson Hinds and Kermit Leveridge; and Ruthless Rap Assassins producer Greg Wilson.
Perhaps the most inspirational part of the documentary is seeing that even though Cymande didn’t get the mainstream success that the band had hoped for in the 1970s, it didn’t kill the band members’ desire to still make and perform music at ages when most people have retired. Cymande released the reunion album “A Simple Act of Faith” in 2015, and has been performing concerts on a regular basis since the reunion. The documentary includes footage of Cymande performing at music festivals in 2019, including WOMAD.
“Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” is partly a tribute to the band and partly an interesting music history lesson, especially for people who have never heard of Cymande, a band that is underrated but not forgotten. It’s a story of a band that reunited after decades of the band members being apart—but this time around, the band doesn’t feel the pressure to have big hits on the charts and is playing music for the pure joy of it. And that might be the biggest lesson of all that this documentary has to offer: Music is an art form that doesn’t have to be segregated by age, race or nationality and can change people lives in impactful ways.
Abramorama released “Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande” in New York City on July 26, 2024, will release the movie in the Los Angeles area on August 7, 2024.
Culture Representation: The two-part documentary “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” features a predominantly white group of people (with a few black people and Asians) discussing the feud that erupted in 2019 between superstar Taylor Swift and entertainment mogul Scooter Braun, after Braun bought the master recordings for Swift’s albums that she originally recorded for Big Machine Records.
Culture Clash: Swift accused Braun of being a business bully, while Braun said the business deal was legal and accused Swift of ordering her fans to harass him and his loved ones.
Culture Audience: “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of Swift or Braun and are interested in documentaries that give basic lessons on media manipulation and how the music industry works.
“Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” doesn’t have any new or bombshell information but it’s an adequate look back at one of the biggest battles in Taylor Swift’s long history of battles against real or perceived enemies. It’s a documentary that does exactly what is expected when looking at both sides of this feud, without interviewing the people at the center of the feud. There’s competent explanation of business deals, but better film editing was needed for some footage.
Directed by Kate Siney, “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” is divided into two episodes. The first episode is titled “Taylor’s Side.” The second episode is titled “Scooter’s Side.” There’s the usual mix of interviews done exclusively for the documentary and archival clips from other sources. The interviewees featured in “Taylor’s Side” are journalists, entertainment attorneys and Swift fans. The interviewees featured in “Taylor’s Side” are only journalists and entertainment attorneys. Apparently, the documentary’s filmmakers couldn’t get interviews with anyone claiming to be fans or colleagues of Braun.
The documentary reiterates basic facts of the feud: In 2019, Swift went public about a behind-the-scenes feud that she was having with Braun, who at the time was mostly known as a music manager whose clients included Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande and Kanye West. Scott Borchetta, the founder of Big Machine Records, is credited with discovering Swift. In June 2019, Big Machine (which released Swift’s first six studio albums) sold the company to Braun for an estimated $300 million.
The sale of Big Machine to Braun meant that Braun owned the rights to the original master recordings of Swift’s first six albums that she recorded while she was signed to Big Machine. Swift still retained the song publishing rights (the copyrights to her music and lyrics) for songs that she had written while signed to Big Machine. As mentioned in the documentary, it’s standard for a record company to own the master recordings of an artist who was signed to the record company at the time the recordings were made. Very few artists signed to major labels ever get full ownership of their master recordings.
Braun owning Swift’s master recordings for her Big Machine albums was particularly hurtful to her because of Swift’s on-again/off-again feud with rapper West. The Swift/West feud began in 2009, when West notoriously interrupted her acceptance speech at the MTV Video Music Awards, when Swift won in the category for Best Female Video for “You Belong With Me.” In his on-stage outburst, West said that Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It),” which lost in the category, was “one of the best videos of all time.” West later made several public apologies for being rude to Swift in this incident.
The Swift/West feud reignited in 2016, when West’s song “Famous” was released and had a lyrics about Swift that said: “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex / I made that bitch famous.” Swift publicly expressed outrage and disgust at these lyrics. But there was backlash against Swift after Kim Kardashian (West’s wife at the time) released a secretly recorded video showing West and Swift having a phone conversation where Swift approved of West’s intention to say in the song that he wanted to have sex with Swift. In the video, West never told Swift that he was going to use the words “I made that bitch famous.”
Still, the damage was done. As West’s manager at the time, Braun naturally sided with West, although Braun never specifically said derogatory things about Swift in public. All of this is necessary background information to explain why Swift found it especially painful that her master recordings were now being owned by the person she considered to be one of her biggest enemies.
In interviews and other public statements, Swift described being blindsided and not knowing about the sale of Big Machine until she saw a report online. As pointed out in the documentary, what Swift did not include in her public griping about the deal was that her father had a 3% stake in Big Machine and made about $9 million to $15 million from the sale. Under those circumstances, it’s hard to believe that she didn’t know in advance that Big Machine was going to be sold. Swift also claimed that she was never given a chance to buy her master recordings. She called Borchetta and Braun “bullies” and described her battle in feminist terms, as if she were a victim of toxic masculinity.
The documentary includes the rebuttals and denials from Borchetta and Braun, who publicly released documents that showed that not only did Swift and her attorneys get offered a chance to own her master recordings from Big Machine, but she also turned down the offer because Big Machine wanted her to re-sign with the company in order for Swift to get the master recordings. Instead, Swift walked away from the offer and signed with Republic Records. Big Machine board member Erik Logan also made a public statement saying that Swift was lying about the circumstances of the deal. Swift pivoted to announcing that she would re-record and re-release all of her albums that were originally released by Big Machine.
As part of Swift’s PR campaign to get people to side with her, in one of her social media statements, she told her army of fans to tell Borchetta and Braun what they think about this business deal. This ugly saga played out for more than a year, even after Braun sold Big Machine to Shamrock Capital (a private equity firm owned by Disney) in November 2020. Braun eventually went public about Braun and his family members getting death threats and asked Swift to stop using fans to weaponize this business dispute. Swift ignored this plea.
“Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” includes background biographical information about Swift and Braun. Raised in Pennsylvania, Swift came from an upper-middle-class family who fully supported her dream to become a famous singer. She is admired for standing up for herself and for being excellent at marketing herself. Raised in Connecticut, Braun came from a middle-class family where his grandparents were Holocaust survivors and he developed a strong sense of Jewish pride, family bonding and standing up for oppressed people. Braun started in the music business as a party promoter and was a marketing executive for So So Def Records before becoming a music manager, whose first major client was Bieber. Swift and Braun are described as very ambitious with intentions to be moguls.
The episode focusing on Swift includes gushing commentary from Swift superfans Alex Goldschmidt and Zack Hourihane. Also complimenting Swift is her former personal assistant Heather Wirth, who went on tour with Swift in 2015. The documentary paints a portrait of Swift being down-to-earth and kind to her fans and people she lets be close to her, but she also holds grudges, especially when it comes to people she sees as threats to her career. Braun is described as someone who wanted to be in the limelight as much as his artist clients. He has charitable side to him and a ruthless side to him, according to commentary in the documentary.
Journalists who weigh in with their thoughts and observations in both episodes are Mikael Wood of The Los Angeles Times, Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone, Lucas Shaw of Bloomberg, Anna Silman of Business Insider, Nola Ojomu of the Daily Mail, Zing Tsjeng of Vice.com and freelancers Alex Bhattacharji and Rachel Brodsky. Brian Mansfield, a Nashville journalist who is described as a “friend” of Swift’s, does nothing but praise her in the episode focusing on Swift. On the other end of the spectrum, Shaw is the most critical of Swift and comments: “I don’t think she’s been fully honest about why she feels so strongly about Scooter Braun.”
There is also commentary from a few academics: University of Exeter cultural theorist Amelia Morris is firmly on Swift’s side and is quick to label any criticism of Swift as misogynistic. Morris goes a little overboard in defending Swift because Morris acts as if Swift is the only major artist who lost the rights to their music in business deals they later regretted. There are numerous examples of other superstar artists who don’t own legal rights to their biggest hit recordings, but the documentary ignores these examples. The Beatles losing their song publishing rights is only mentioned briefly in an archival MSNBC interview of Braun defending himself against Swift’s accusations of unfair business practices.
Dr. Jennifer Otter Bickerdike—an academic and music historian who is in the episode focused on Braun—is critical of Swift and points out several seeming hypocrisies and misleading or dishonest statements from Swift—not just in the feud with Braun but in other instances in Swift’s career. Otter Bickerdike comments that Swift likes to project an image of being a feminist but often acts like a “mean girl” to other women who publicly disagree with her. Some of the interviewees also point out that Swift could be more responsible in telling her fans not to maliciously attack or threaten people online who might be in public spats with Swift.
The issue of Swift writing songs about things going on in her personal life gets both praise and criticism. Her dating history (and list of her famous ex-boyfriends) get the expected scrutiny in the documentary. Supporters of Swift say that she’s the victim of a double standard because male artists don’t get as much criticism for writing about their personal lives. Critics of Swift say that she profits from writing songs about her personal life and therefore she shouldn’t be surprised when this type of confessional songwriting invites more attention to her personal life.
There’s also mention of Swift’s 2014 “Bad Blood” music video (in which Swift has an all-female, gun-toting posse), which is widely believed to be about Swift’s then-feud with rival singer Katy Perry. Otter Bickerdike and a few others say the implied violence in the “Bad Blood” video is in poor taste and goes against Swift’s carefully curated image as a peace-loving person who doesn’t want to hurt anyone. Some people in the documentary also say that Swift often likes to play the victim in her narratives about her enemies without taking responsibility for how she attacks people too.
The legal experts interviewed in the documentary include entertainment attorneys Richard Busch, Marina Bogorad and Howard King and legal expert/attorney Neama Rahmani. Busch has the most factual information to share about how contracts typically work in the music industry. Bogorad, who says repeatedly that Braun’s Big Machine deal was completely legal, lowers her credibility when she keeps describing record companies as “studios.” Someone needs to tell Bogorad that she’s talking about the music industry, not the movie industry.
Some of the same archival footage is unneccessarily repeated in both episodes. It’s as if the documentary filmmakers don’t trust that viewers will remember what was already shown. Or it could just be lazy editing. The documentary also would have benefited from having at least one interview with someone who worked for Braun. The movie fails to mention that West and Braun parted ways in 2018, after two-and-a-half years of Braun being West’s manager.
Also omitted from the documentary is the fact Braun eventually lost most of his biggest clients as a manager. However, an epilogue mentions that in 2021, Braun sold his Ithaca Holdings company to the South Korean music company HYBE, which is best known for representing BTS, the biggest pop group from South Korea. Braun became CEO of HYBE and got a reported $1 billion in the sale of Ithaca. Just four days before “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” was released, Braun publicly announced that he was officially retiring as a music manager to focus on his work at HYBE and other ventures.
In response to this documentary, Swift released a statement saying that that she’s put her feud with Braun behind her. People might continue to debate over who was the real winner in the Swift/Braun feud. Considering that after the feud, Swift also became a billionaire, her re-recorded albums have been even bigger sellers than when they were originally released, and her 2023-2024 Eras tour is one of the highest-grossing tours of all time, it seems as if billionaires Swift and Braun have anyone to complain about now, it shouldn’t be each other.
Max premiered “Taylor Swift vs. Scooter Braun: Bad Blood” on June 21, 2024. The documentary premiered on Discovery+ in the United Kingdom.
A 1964 photo of the Beach Boys in “The Beach Boys.” Pictured from left to right: Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson, Brian Wilson and Mike Love. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images/Disney+)
Culture Representation: The documentary film “The Beach Boys” features a predominantly white group of people (with two black people) from the music industry discussing the career and legacy of the Beach Boys, the California-based pop/rock band that rose to prominence in the 1960s.
Culture Clash: The Beach Boys had various conflicts inside and outside the band on the band’s musical direction, touring, business decisions, mental health, substance addiction and power struggles.
Culture Audience: Besides appealing to the obvious target audience of Beach Boys fans, “The Beach Boys” will appeal primarily to people who like watching celebrity biographies that have a lot of great archival footage but follow a familiar formula.
A 1966 photo from “The Beach Boys” of Beach Boys chief songwriter/producer Brian Wilson recording the album “Pet Sounds” in Los Angeles. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images/Disney+)
Ardent fans of the band will learn nothing new from “The Beach Boys” documentary, which plays it safe but is a very good introduction for viewers who don’t know much about the Beach Boys. The movie’s ending scene indicates a better story could’ve been told. That’s because at the end of the movie, there’s a very short scene of a band reunion with five surviving Beach Boys members (past and present) gathering to talk on the beach at Paradise Cove in Malibu, California, where the Beach Boys did the photo shoot for their 1962 debut album “Surfin’ Safari.”
“The Beach Boys” documentary purposely doesn’t show what was said during this reunion and only shows some of the men smiling and embracing each other before they sit down at a table on the beach. It’s an example of how the documentary is certainly competent when it comes to giving a history of the Beach Boys, but the documentary would have been more impactful if it had anything new that was truly exclusive and compelling. Showing this type of heavily edited reunion clip at the very end of the movie just seems like a tease that will give viewers the impression that the documentary left out some of the best parts of the Beach Boys’ story.
Directed by Frank Marshall and Thom Zimny, “The Beach Boys” is one of several biographical movies or TV series about the Beach Boys. This documentary can be considered a quasi-update of director Alan Boyd’s 1998 documentary film “Endless Harmony: The Beach Boys Story,” which did not have the participation of the surviving band members. Some other Beach Boys on-screen biographies are the 1990 TV-movie drama “Summer Dreams: The Story of the Beach Boys” and the 2000 drama mini-series “The Beach Boys: An American Family.”
Curiously, “The Beach Boys” 2024 documentary has very little details about the band members’ lives after the early 1980s. For example, the band’s 1988 massive comeback hit “Kokomo” is not discussed and only played during the movie’s end credits. However, because “The Beach Boys” documentary has the benefit of the participation of the band members who were alive at the time this documentary was filmed, it makes this documentary slightly better than most movies about the Beach Boys.
“The Beach Boys” documentary dutifully covers the origins of the band, which was formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The original and best-known lineup of the band consisted of brothers Brian Wilson (the eldest brother), who was the band’s chief songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, playing bass guitar or keyboards on stage; Dennis Wilson (the middle brother), who was the band’s drummer; Carl Wilson (the youngest brother), who was the band’s lead guitarist; Mike Love, the Wilson brothers’ first cousin and lead singer of the band; and rhythm guitarist Al Jardine, a longtime family friend.
The Wilson brothers’ parents—Murry Wilson and Audree Wilson—encouraged and supported the band. Murry became the first manager of the Beach Boys. By all accounts, Murry was tough, bullying and abusive. (Murry’s physical and emotional abuse of his sons is briefly mentioned in archival interview footage with Carl and Dennis.) However, people who talk about Murry in the documentary also agree that the Beach Boys probably wouldn’t have achieved the level of success that they had if not for Murry. Eventually, a major problem for the band was Murry’s constant interference in how he wanted the band’s music to sound.
The Beach Boys had an image of being a carefree California pop/rock band with distinctive harmonies. The Beach Boys experienced almost immediate success with their first single “Surfin’,” which became a hit on a Los Angeles radio station, which led to bigger opportunities for the band. Many of the Beach Boys’ biggest hits were about surfing (“Surfin’,” “Surfer Girl,” “Surfin’ USA”) or about the California lifestyle. The band’s earliest musical influences included the Four Freshmen and surf music artists such as Dick Dale.
Even though the Beach Boys were initially rejected by every major record company, they eventually signed with Capitol Records, with Nick Venet as the band’s A&R (artists and repertoire) executive from Capitol. Venet started off producing the early Beach Boys records until Brian Wilson took over as the chief producer during the height of the group’s success. Murry acted like he wanted to be a producer for the band too, and that led to inevitable major conflicts.
Each member of the band had a certain role that was part of the Beach Boys image. Brian Wilson was the “musical genius” who didn’t like to tour. Love was the extroverted lead singer who was band’s jokester with a huge ego. Dennis Wilson (the only member of the Beach Boys who was an enthusiastic surfer) was the rebellious heartthrob. Carl Wilson was the “shy and quiet one.” Jardine was the “regular guy” who was often the peacemaker.
“The Beach Boys” documentary has the expected archival footage and use of the band’s original songs. Most of the band’s biggest hits from the 1960s are included, such as the aforementioned “Surf” songs, “Help Me, Rhonda,” “Fun, Fun, Fun,” “California Girls,” “I Get Around,” “Good Vibrations,” “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” and “Sloop John B.” The documentary’s best archival footage (audio and video) is of the recording sessions, particularly when it shows how these recordings took shape.
During the heyday of the Beach Boys’ 1960s commercial success, they were heavily influenced by the music created by music producer Phil Spector (who was famous for his Wall of Sound) and the Beatles. The Beatles’ 1965 “Rubber Soul” album influenced the Beach Boys’ 1966 album “Pet Sounds,” which in turn influenced the Beatles’ 1967 album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The rivalries and the influences that the Beach Boys and the Beatles had on each other are detailed in the documentary, but there is no new information revealed.
The documentary and band members give a lot of credit to the Wrecking Crew, the influential group of studio musicians who played on a lot of iconic music of the 1960s and 1970s. Don Randi of the Wrecking Crew is interviewed for this documentary, which also has archival interview clips from Wrecking Crew members Carol Kaye and Glen Campbell, who was briefly a member of the Beach Boys. Other collaborators, such as lyricist Van Dyke Parks (who worked on the Beach Boys’ previously unreleased “Smile” album from the late 1960s), are seen in archival clips.
The Beach Boys had various lineup changes over the years. Brian Wilson and Jardine quit and rejoined the band multiple times for various reasons. One of the people who is interviewed in the documentary is David Marks, a neighbor friend of the Wilson brothers, who replaced Jardine in the band for a few years after Jardine quit the band for the first time in 1961.
There have been several reasons cited for why Jardine quit the Beach Boys for the first time, with the reasons ranging from creative differences to apathy to wanting to finish his college education. In the “Beach Boys” documentary Jardine says he quit the band in the early 1960s because he wanted to finish his college education. Jardine rejoined the band in 1963, replacing Marks, who quit after getting into a big dispute with Murry Wilson.
In 1965, guitarist Bruce Johnston joined the Beach Boys as a replacement for Campbell, who went on to have a successful career as a solo artist. Johnston takes some issue with the widespread public perception of Brian Wilson being the most important member of the Beach Boys. In the documentary, Johnston says, “Brian was lucky to have our voices to sing his dreams.” Out of all of the surviving Beach Boys members who participated in this documentary, Brian is the one who has the least to say in new interview footage. Most of the documentary’s comments from Brian are from archival interviews from other sources.
South African musicians Blondie Chaplin (who is interviewed in the documentary) and Ricky Fataar joined the Beach Boys in the band’s more experimental early 1970s era. Chaplin doesn’t say much in the documentary except that the Beach Boys’ music had a harder-edged sound when he was in the band, and the band situation “wasn’t that great” during this period of time. The documentary mentions the Beach Boys’ declining popularity in the first half of the 1970s got a significant boost with the release of the 1974 greatest hits compilation album “Endless Summer,” which was a big hit and made the Beach Boys a touring powerhouse that could sell out arenas again but also cemented their fate as a nostalgia act.
“The Beach Boys” is not a documentary where people should expect to hear much about the Beach Boys’ personal lives. The only current or former spouse of a Beach Boy who is interviewed in the documentary is Marilyn Wilson-Rutherford, who was Brian Wilson’s first wife and who was the president of Brother Records, the Beach Boys’ record label. The children of Beach Boys members are not interviewed.
Wilson-Rutherford tells the same stories she’s told in many interviews and books about the ups and downs that she witnessed or experienced as a member of the Beach Boys’ inner circle. Brian Wilson’s health problems (mental and physical), including substance addiction and depression, are also rehashed in the documentary, as they have been in many other biographies. This documentary provides no new insight on these issues. The only people who will be surprised by the information in this documentary are people who don’t know much about the Beach Boys.
One of the biggest flaws in the documentary is how it sidelines the deaths of Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson. In 1983, Dennis drowned while intoxicated in Marina del Rey, California, when he was 39. Carl died of lung cancer in 1998, when he was 51. The deaths of Dennis and Carl are not even mentioned in “The Beach Boys” documentary until the very end, when a caption is briefly flashed on screen with their names and the years of their births and deaths.
In other words, don’t expect anyone in this documentary to comment on how these deaths affected them. For a movie about a “family band” (a term Love uses more than once), it’s a glaring omission not to discuss the deaths of two of the family members in the band. The documentary also never mentions that at the time that Dennis died, he was homeless and had nearly been fired from the band because of his alcoholism. The other band members ordered Dennis to go to rehab, but he left rehab after a few days and then died. None of that information is in the documentary.
“The Beach Boys” documentary features interviews with some well-known music artists—Lindsey Buckingham, Janelle Monáe, Ryan Tedder and Don Was—but their comments really just amount to fan gushing and offer nothing new to say. Josh Kun, a former music critic and currently University of Southern California’s vice provost of the arts, gives the obligatory academic/historian perspective. One person who is noticeably absent from the documentary is actor John Stamos, who has been a close friend (and occasional touring musician) of the Beach Boys, beginning in the 1980s.
As for Beach Boys scandals, there’s a brief mention of Dennis Wilson introducing an aspiring musician named Charles Manson to the Beach Boys’ inner circle in the late 1960s. (The documentary doesn’t mention that Dennis let Manson and some of Manson’s cult members live at a house rented by Dennis, who moved out and eventually got the Manson people evicted by no longer paying the rent.) Lead singer Love says in the documentary that he only met Manson once, and that was enough for him not to get further involved. Still, Manson wrote a Beach Boys song called “Never Learn Not to Love,” which was the B-side of the Beach Boys’ 1969 remake single of “Bluebirds Over the Mountain.”
Music producer Terry Melcher, whom Johnston describes as Johnston’s best friend at the time, declined to work with Manson, which led to a terrible aftermath that doesn’t need to be described in this review. The Beach Boys’ brief but notorious association with Manson is obviously described as a mistake in judgment, with the band members having no idea what Manson and his cult would end up doing. It’s quickly mentioned that Dennis Wilson felt tremendously guilty over introducing Manson into the Beach Boys’ world.
“The Beach Boys” documentary has an even shorter mention of all the lawsuits and legal disputes that Love has had with the Beach Boys in the 1980s and beyond. The documentary does not mention the controversy over Brian Wilson’s therapist Eugene Landy, who had an on-again/off-again, guru-like relationship with Brian from 1975 to the early 1990s, resulting in several lawsuits that involved the Beach Boys. (Landy died in 2006.) Beach Boys singer Love will only say in the documentary what is already public knowledge about his own Beach Boys legal conflicts: Love has been fighting for a share of royalties for Love’s uncredited songwriting of Beach Boys songs.
The Beach Boys lead singer bitterly comments in the documentary that Murry Wilson’s 1969 decision to sell the Beach Boys’ publishing (without consulting any of the band members first) has damaged the family’s legacy. Love, who says that he and Brian Wilson don’t talk very much these days, gets teary-eyed and chokes up when he remarks that if he would say something to Brian, it would be “I love you. And nothing anybody can do can change that.”
That’s why it’s incredibly frustrating that this documentary doesn’t show what was said in the reunion of Love, Brian Wilson, Jardine, Johnston and Marks seen at the end of the movie. There could almost be an entire documentary about that conversation. “The Beach Boys” gets the job done on an acceptable level when retelling well-known facts and putting them in a nostalgic package. Ultimately, it has the glossy sheen of a celebrity biography where all the key people participated but still didn’t tell the whole story.
Disney+ premiered “The Beach Boys” on May 24, 2024, with a sneak preview at select U.S. IMAX cinemas on May 21, 2024.