Edited by Azizi Powell
(Revised November 21, 2016)
This post provides excerpts from five online articles and posts about Lin-Manuel Miranda's 2015 Broadway musical Hamilton.
Five videos of songs from that play as well as a link to annotated lyrics for that play's album are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for socio-cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks Lin-Manuel Miranda for writing and starring in Hamilton. Thanks also to the the original cast of Hamilton and the producers of that play. In addition, thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of this videos on YouTube.
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FEATURED VIDEOS
These videos are presented in chronological order based on their publishing date on YouTube with the oldest dated video given first.
Video #1: Hip-hop and history blend for Broadway hit ‘Hamilton’
PBS NewsHour, Published on Nov 20, 2015
He’s on the $10 bill and he died in a duel, but what else do you know about Alexander Hamilton? Now his life is the subject of a cutting-edge hip-hop Broadway musical, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Jeffrey Brown talks to the celebrated writer and performer about updating the history of one of the Founding Fathers to reflect and engage today’s America.
View the Full Story/Transcript: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/hip-hop-and-history-blend-for-broadway-hit-hamilton/
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Video #2: Video #3: "Hamilton": A founding father takes to the stage
CBS Sunday Morning, Published on Mar 8, 2015
When Lin-Manuel Miranda sings about the drive of the "young, scrappy and hungry" immigrant, he's not singing about just any immigrant. He's singing about the man on the ten dollar bill, Alexander Hamilton. As Mo Rocca reports, Hamilton's musical journey to the stage is as revolutionary as the young revolutionary who helped create the America we know..
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Video # 3: Hamilton cast performs "Alexander Hamilton" at White House
CBSN, Published on Mar 14, 2016
President Obama and the First Lady hosted the Broadway cast of the musical “Hamilton” at the White House Monday for a workshop and Q&A session with area students. President Obama delivered remarks on the history behind "Hamilton," and the cast performed “Alexander Hamilton," the opening song of the play, live for the attendees.
-snip-
The Hamilton cast performance begins at 9:03 of this video.
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Video #4: Hamilton cast performs "My Shot" at White House
CBSN Published on Mar 14, 2016
The cast of the hit Broadway musical "Hamilton" performed the song "My Shot" at the White House Monday for an audience that included President and Mrs. Obama, Vice President Biden and local students.
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Video #5: Lin-Manuel Miranda Monologue - SNL
Saturday Night Live Published on Oct 8, 2016
Host Lin-Manuel Miranda commemorates his first time hosting SNL with a remixed version of Hamilton's "My Shot."
-snip-
Click http://www.thewrap.com/snl-lin-manuel-miranda-whips-out-not-throwing-away-my-shot-parody/ for an article about Lin-Manuel Miranda's monologue on the American comedy series Saturday Night Live.
Also, click http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/18/politics/mike-pence-hamilton-musical/ and http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/theater/2016/11/19/social-media-explodes-over-hamiltontrump-duel/94129798/ for articles about Donald Trump's tweets about the play Hamilton.
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EXCERPTS FROM VARIOUS ONLINE ARTICLES ABOUT HAMILTON (MUSICAL)
These excerpts from articles, posts, and a page for the annotated album lyrics are given in no particular order and are numbered for referencing purposes only.
Excerpt #1
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilton_(musical)
"Hamilton is a musical about Alexander Hamilton, with music, lyrics,[1] and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The show was inspired by the 2004 biography Alexander Hamilton, by historian Ron Chernow.
The musical made its Off-Broadway debut at The Public Theater in February 2015, where its engagement was sold out.[2] The show transferred to Broadway in August 2015 at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. On Broadway, it has received enthusiastic critical acclaim and unprecedented advance box office sales,[3] as well as a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. The Off-Broadway production of Hamilton won the 2015 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical as well as seven other Drama Desk Awards out of 14 total nominations."...
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Excerpt #2
From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hamilton-musical-fans_us_56c34d45e4b0c3c55052a5cd
" “Hamilton” is a Broadway musical.
More specifically, it is a wildly popular musical about “a scrappy young immigrant who forever changed America.” That scrappy young immigrant from the Caribbean is the titular Alexander Hamilton, played by prolific composer/lyricist/rapper (also a MacArthur “Genius Grantee” and, swoon, the show’s writer) Lin-Manuel Miranda.
On stage, Miranda is supported by a hyper-talented and racially diverse cast of singers, rappers and dancers who deftly act out the highs and lows of Founding Fathers-era America. Together, they offer an unlikely, hip-hop-inspired retelling of the United States’ revolutionary history, punctuated by dramatic, character-driven stories of ambition and revenge, all influenced by Miranda’s serendipitous decision to read a Hamilton biography while on vacation....
3. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a godsend.
He’s a MacArthur Fellow, so you know he has credentials. The New York City-born writer and performer, of Puerto Rican descent, created the Tony Award-winning musical “In The Heights” when he was just a sophomore in college. He starred in that production, too.
Oh, and he rapped his acceptance speech at the Grammys.
4. But, so is the rest of the cast.
While Miranda kills it as Alexander Hamilton, the other characters are hardly second-rate. “Smash” star Leslie Odom Jr. plays Aaron Burr, the man who killed Hamilton in an unforgettable duel...
5. You really, really, really don’t need to love history to get into “Hamilton.”
Sure, the play is inspired by non-fictional events — Hamilton really did grow up in the British West Indies, Burr really did kill Hamilton in a bitter duel. But the musical is just as much about pop culture as it is about history. As Rebecca Mead noted in The New Yorker, “Hamilton also reminded Miranda of Tupac Shakur, the West Coast rapper who was shot to death in 1996.”
Be prepared for references to theater staples like Rodgers and Hammerstein, Stephen Sondheim, and “West Side Story,” as well as nods to hip-hop icons: Biggie Smalls, the Fugees, even Jamie Foxx."...
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Except #3
From http://genius.com/albums/Lin-manuel-miranda/Hamilton-original-broadway-cast-recording
Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording) (2015)
"Hamilton Written By Lin-Manuel Miranda
[album] Release Date September 25, 2015
[This is] The Grammy award-winning cast recording to the hit Broadway musical, Hamilton, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It blends musical theater, hip-hop, rap, R&B, jazz, pop, and American history to dramatize the life of founding father Alexander Hamilton, based on the biography by Ron Chernow. Despite depicting historical figures, the show practices colorblind (more like purposefully colorful) casting. As countless promotional materials state, Hamilton aims to depict “America then, as told by America now.
This record was the first album to ever receive a 5 star review on billboard.com.”...
-snip-
This genius.com page contains annotations by Lin-Manuel Miranda and others of the lyrics for all the songs in "Hamilton". This page also includes a write up about how this musical was composed.
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Excerpt #4:
From http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/no-the-hamilton-casting-call-for-non-white-actors-is-not-reverse-racism_us_56fd2c83e4b0daf53aeed9b9 No, The ‘Hamilton’ Casting Call For ‘Non-White’ Actors Is Not Reverse Racism 03/31/2016 12:30 pm ET | Zeba Blay Updated Mar 31, 2016
..."There is, of course, a case to be made for the importance of colorblind casting, the practice of choosing actors for parts based solely on their ability and not on race or ethnicity. And if you think about it, “Hamilton” is perhaps as colorblind as castings come — when else would black and Latino actors get to play the Founding Fathers?
But what makes “Hamilton” work so well is the fact that it’s a commentary on America’s past through the prism of America’s present, its future. It works because the historically white, male founding fathers are being played by a predominantly non-white cast of blacks and Latinos (there are also plans to cast women in the roles of men).
Now, what would the musical look like if Alexander Hamilton wasn’t played by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Aaron Burr wasn’t played by Leslie Odom, Jr, but instead the characters were played by two capable, talented white actors? The show would likely still be entertaining, but the context and the conversation would change. It’s like suggesting that “For Colored Girls...” or “The Color Purple” have an all-white cast. It’s a completely different show."...
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Except #5
From http://www.buzzfeed.com/jeremymccarter/saving-america-from-itself#.frJwYd2wRj
Why Hamilton Matters; The story of Hamilton’s journey from concept to cultural phenomenon, as told by someone who has been in all of the room(s) where it happened. Even in Obama’s White House. posted on Apr. 10, 2016 by Jeremy McCarter
..."It is May 5, 2009, and Lin-Manuel Miranda is listening at the back of the East Room for his cue. The administration of the newly elected president, Barack Obama, has invited him to the White House to perform a song from In the Heights, his Tony Award–winning Broadway musical. The organizers figured he would be a bright addition to an evening of spoken word, poetry, and hip-hop — so bright, in fact, that they asked him to close the show...
Miranda tells the audience he’s writing a hip-hop concept album about the life of Alexander Hamilton, which makes the audience laugh, because that’s a ludicrous combination of words, and then he starts rapping, which makes them laugh even more, because it really is a funny notion — a young Nuyorican spitting verses about the nation’s first Treasury secretary (in the East Room, no less, the chandeliers and gold drapes, George and Martha looking down) — but then Miranda raps faster, and with more conviction, and now nobody is laughing, because they see that he’s not joking, that he’s very serious, that this fusion of unlike parts is yielding something new and potent, something amazing, and when he’s done they leap to their feet, cheering as one, the president leading the way.
Those highly implausible four minutes are a pretty good distillation of what has happened to Miranda’s Hamilton idea ever since. The audience’s cycle of laughing, then listening intently, then breaking into wild applause has been repeated many millions of times. Hamilton has become the hottest ticket on Broadway, which is just about the least interesting thing about it. Its actors have become celebrities. Its catchphrases have crept into common usage. Its cast album just went gold. Less than a year into its run on Broadway, it has become a once-in-a-generation cultural phenomenon."...
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ADDITIONAL LINKS
Click http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hamilton-white-visit-was-so-important_us_56e82e9be4b0860f99da64dd Why The ‘Hamilton’ Cast’s Trip To The White House Was So Important
Lin-Manuel Miranda’s trip to Washington, D.C., was a big win for arts education advocates.
by Katherine Brooks, 03/16/2016 09:35 am ET | Updated Mar 17, 2016
Also, click http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/04/10/1511835/-Casting-and-color-Hamilton-and-Broadway-history "Casting and color: 'Hamilton' and Broadway history" By Denise Oliver Velez, 016/04/10.
That post includes an excerpt of remarks by President Barack Obama at "Hamilton at the White House" [March 14, 2016] and a link to the full transcript of those remarks.
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Visitor comments are welcome.
Showing posts with label Broadway shows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Broadway shows. Show all posts
Monday, April 11, 2016
Sunday, June 7, 2015
A Timeline For The Use Of The Saying "The Blacker The Berry, The Sweeter The Juice"
Edited by Azzi Powell
Update: June 3, 2020
This post traces the saying "The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" from its inclusion in African American Thomas W. Talley's 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise & Otherwise to Kendrick Lamar's 2015 Hip Hop record that has that saying as its title.
The content of this post is presented for historical, sociological, and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/names-of-books-songs-movies-television.html for a modified version of this timeline that only includes the dates and the name/title of the book, song, movie, or television show that has "The Blacker The Berry/The Sweeter the Juice as its title or otherwise includes that saying.
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TIMELINE FOR THE USE OF "THE BLACKER THE BERRY, THE SWEETER THE JUICE" AS A BOOK TITLE AND IN SONGS
These are the examples that I'm aware of. I'd appreciate information about any other examples.
1896 -"Blacker the berry the sweeter the juice" is quoted as a saying in the St. Mary's [Kansas] _Journal_, 12/17/1896. [Hat tip to Joseph Scott for this information. Read his June 2, 2020 comment in this post's comment thread.]
1922 - Thomas W. Talley, editor Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise & Otherwise
YOU LOVE YOUR GIRL
You loves yō' gal?
Well, I loves mine.
Yō' gal hain't common?
Well, my gal's fine.
I loves my gal,
She hain't no goose—
Blacker 'an blackberries,
Sweeter 'an juice.
[p. 95]http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm#Page_93 "Negro Folk Songs, Wise And Otherwise"; Gutenberg electronic edition. This collection of rhymes was originally published in 1922.
Explanation:
"Yo gal hain't common/Well, my gal's fine." = Your girlfriend isn't plain. Well, my girlfriend looks good [too]."
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December 1923 - Edmonia Henderson's song "Black Man Blues".
The opening line of that song is "The blacker the berry/the sweeter the juice" [Hat tip to Anonymous February 22, 2020 for sharing this information.]
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ_8w61mcI8
for a sound file of that song.
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1929 - [novel] The Blacker The Berry by Wallace Thurman
From http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/868440.The_Blacker_the_Berry_
The Blacker the Berry...
"One of the most widely read and controversial works of the Harlem Renaissance, The Blacker the Berry...was the first novel to openly explore prejudice within the Black community. This pioneering novel found a way beyond the bondage of Blackness in American life to a new meaning in truth and beauty.
Emma Lou Brown's dark complexion is a source of sorrow and humiliation -- not only to herself, but to her lighter-skinned family and friends and to the white community of Boise, Idaho, her home-town. As a young woman, Emma travels to New York's Harlem, hoping to find a safe haven in the Black Mecca of the 1920s. Wallace Thurman re-creates this legendary time and place in rich detail, describing Emma's visits to nightclubs and dance halls and house-rent parties, her sex life and her catastrophic love affairs, her dreams and her disillusions -- and the momentous decision she makes in order to survive.
A lost classic of Black American literature, The Blacker the Berry...is a compelling portrait of the destructive depth of racial bias in this country."
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From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blacker_the_Berry
..."Variations in skin tone has historically related to European and Native American ancestry among African Americans, and the tangled history of slave societies, and benefits that some mixed-race children received from white fathers.* The topic of behavior related to differing skin tones has since been treated by other artists and writers, and the issue of skin bias has been studied as a sociological and psychological issue among academics.[2]
Despite the calls for Black Power and "Black is beautiful" in the mid-twentieth century, studies have found that skin tone bias continues. It is more openly discussed, studied and, at times, mocked.[2] The director Spike Lee has explored this topic, particularly in his film School Daze (1988), about students at a prestigious college (modeled on Spelman College and Morehouse College).
In 2001 Maxine S. Thompson and Verna M. Keith presented the results of a study on gender, skin tone and self efficacy. They found darker skin more problematic for women, for whom skin tone had more effect on self-esteem, especially for lower and working class women. Higher class women could escape the effects of skin color by other accomplishments. Skin tone presented less of a self-esteem issue for men, but did affect their sense of self-efficacy.[2]
...In the 1993 song Keep Ya Head Up by rapper Tupac Shakur, the novel's line "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" is referenced. The novel is also referenced in Kendrick Lamar's 2015 song "The Blacker the Berry"."**
-snip-
*It’s significant that the editors wrote “from their white fathers” and made no reference to the possibility of people who are mixed race having non-Black mothers.
**It's more accurate to say that these Hip Hop examples and other usages of the line "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" quote the saying and not necessarily the book with that title. However, the book is an early documented example of the use of Black folk's use of that saying to mean that dark skinned Black females are just as good if not better than other females.
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1969 - The Isley Brothers- The Blacker The Berrie (a/k/a Black Berries)
From http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-brothers-isley-mw0000024667 "The Blacker The Berries (aka Black Berries) The Isley Brothers" AllMusic Review by Andrew Hamilton
"The late '60s and early '70s remain a favorite period in the Isley Brothers evolution. Ronald sung hard, and brothers O'Kelly and Rudolph supplied church-inspired backing whoops to his lead. The tunes had catchy titles and creative, rhyming lyrics. This recording is loaded with that rocking, "It's Your Thing" style. "The Blacker the Berry the Sweeter Juice" isn't about fruit but speaks of the desirability of dark-complexioned women."...
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The Isley Brothers- The Blacker The Berrie (a/k/a Black Berries)
#TheIsleyBrothers Published on Nov 6, 2014
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April 5, 1974- Foxy Brown movie
U"Pam Grier's character says "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" in her starring role in Foxy Brown." [Hat tip to Unknown February 25, 2017] for sharing this information.]
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1980 Fame [movie]
The character Coco played by Irene Cara says "The blacker the berry/the sweeter the juice" to a White female dancer, indicating that the Black dancer Leroy doesn't like "vanilla". The White dancer's response was "Yes, but who wants Diabetes."
Warning- This exchange includes profanity. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtnE4FnhV5o Fame (1980)-The Darker The Berry (claws come out).mpg, published by cosmojay, Feb 3, 2012
[Hat tip to Unknown, June 7, 2019 who sent a comment in to this post saying that Leroy said it [The blacker the berry etc.] I don't know if that commenter referred to the character Leroy in the movie Fame or in the television series with that same title.]
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1993- Tupac's Hip Hop record Keep Ya Head Up
The first two lines of that rap are:
Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots"
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/2pac-keep-ya-head-up-with-lyrics_12.html for a pancocojams post on this rap.
Here's a response to a Yahoo.com question page about the second line of that rap:
From https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080508210732AAowkG2
"The darker the flesh then the deeper the roots? What do you think this means?" [The question and all responses are from 2008.]
♫Č.Ĵ.♫
"he was talkin about black people..."the darker you are the closer you are to your ancestors"...the darker the flesh(skin) then the deeper the roots(where it began, ancestors),"
-snip-
The responder alludes to Tupac's "Keep Ya Head Up" rap. The only other commenter who answered this, a blogger using the tag name "The Evil Genius", wrote "the darker your flesh is the closer you are to your ancestors."
-snip-
It's important to recognize that Tupac's "the darker the flesh, the deeper the roots" can be considered an expression of colorism, i.e. thinking that darker skinned people have more roots (or recognize and honor their roots-for instance their "blackness"- more than light skinned black people. That's significant because in the late 1960s and 1970s some afrocentric Black people accused light skinned Black people of not being "as black" as brown skinned or darker brown skinned Black people. And in 2008 some Black Americans labeled then candidate for US President Barack Obama as being "not Black enough" because he was mixed race and had no slave ancestors.
Usually colorism is thought of as people favoring light skinned people over dark skinned people, but being prejudiced against a person of color because of their light complexion is also a type of colorism.
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January 27, 1995 - The Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White by Shirlee Taylor Haizlip (Author)
"The Sweeter the Juice is a provocative memoir that goes to the heart of our American identity. Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, in an effort to reconcile the dissonance between her black persona and her undeniably multiracial heritage, started on a journey of discovery that took her over thousands of miles and hundreds of years. While searching for her mother's family, Haizlip confronted the deeply intertwined but often suppressed tensions between race and skin color.
We are drawn in by the story of an African-American family. Some members chose to "cross over" and "pass" for white while others enjoyed a successful black life. Their stories weave a tale of tangled ancestry, mixed blood, and identity issues from the 17th century to the present. The Sweeter the Juice is a memoir, a social history, a biography, and an autobiography. Haizlip gives to us the quintessential American story, unveiling truths about race, about our society, and about the ways in which we all perceive and judge one another." https://www.amazon.com/Sweeter-Juice-Family-Memoir-Black/dp/0671899333
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1995 "blacker the berry" is part of an exchange in the movie Friday
Friday” [1995]
This line is spoken in an exchange between two Black young men [the character played by Ice Cube and the character played by Chris Tucker] after watching a young, dark skin Black woman jog past them.
The character played by Chris Tucker says "The older the berry the sweeter the juice" and the character played by Ice Cube corrected him saying "It’s blacker the berry the sweeter the juice”.
Warning: This exchange includes profanity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PnZX5RVQsE
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2002- The song "Run Tell That!" from the 2002 Broadway show Hairspray
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hairspray_(musical)
"Hairspray is an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show.[1] When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, and meets a colorful array of characters. She then launches a campaign to integrate the show. Hairspray is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the 1960s...
The musical's original Broadway production opened on August 15, 2002."
-snip-
Excerpt of the song "Run Tell That!"
[singer: Black male character "Seeweed"
I can't see
Why people look at me
And only see the color of my face
And then there's those
That try to help, god knows
But have to always put me in my place
Now i won't ask you to be color blind
'Cause if you pick the fruit
Then girl, you're sure to find...
The blacker the berry
The sweeter the juice
I could say it ain't so
But darlin', what's the use?
The darker the chocolate
The richer the taste
And that's where it's at...
...now run and tell that!!
ENSEMBLE
Run and tell that!
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Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2xkGS5i9ko for a video clip of "Hairspray - Run And Tell That (with subtitles)"
-snip-
I believe that the lines quoted above from the song "Run Tell That!" from the 2002 Broadway show Hairspray mark the beginning of the sexualization of the saying "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice". Prior to that among Black people the saying served as an affirmation about the desirability of dark skinned females.
Another meaning that I've read online* that has been given to "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice is that it refers to things or people getting better with age. I don't think that was what most Black Americans meant when we use that saying (prior to that song). That meaning is also alluded to in Kendrick Lamar's 2015 Hip Hop record that is highlighted below.
*Here are responses from a Yahoo.com question pages about the meaning of "the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice":
From https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080709154038AAcFBr3
"What does this old saying mean the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice?" [The question and all of the responses are from 2008]
JaneB
"It means that Things improve with age"
**
soontobewed
"isn't it obvious? Look at a berry, when it is darker in color it tastes better becuase it has ripened. The more "ripened" the berry the better it tastes.."
**
♥Slim Diva♥™
"It refers to black women too. Whoo hoo!!!!!"
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2006 - Field Mob - "Blacker The Berry" [Rap song] in the album Light Poles And Pine Trees
https://genius.com/Field-mob-blacker-the-berry-lyrics
In this song the rapper recollects his experiences and how he felt growing up being very dark skinned. This song includes the "blacker the berry" hook from Tupac's song "Keep Your Head Up".
There's one use of profanity in these lyrics [the word "sh&t"].
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Apr 22, 2011 by Ableals - Jimmy Black - Blacker The Berry The Sweeter The Juice hip hop rap music video [video publishing date; This probably isn't the date that this song was released. I don't have any other information about this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jywEvdhHChE
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February 2015 Kendrick Lamar [Hip Hop] - The Blacker The Berry
WARNING: This song contains profanity, sexually explicit language, and the use of a form of the n word.
From http://www.eonline.com/news/624257/kendrick-lamar-s-fiery-new-song-the-blacker-the-berry-tackles-racism-and-violence-in-america-listen
"Kendrick Lamar's Grammy wins are further proof that he's undoubtedly one of the best artists in the rap game right now, but his latest work also shows that the 27-year-old is using his talent and status in the industry to deliver messages that matter.
The Compton rapper dropped a fiery new single on Monday titled "The Blacker the Berry" (inspired by the old saying "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice," which was also famously used in Tupac Shakur's "Keep Your Head Up"), and not only does it have a crushing beat that inevitably causes you to head-nod for five minutes straight, but each lyric is laced with a powerful and emotional response to the ongoing race and violence issues in America.
Combine that with Kendrick's aggressive and passionate delivery, and you have a musical gem that evokes the frustrations and thoughts of protesters in the streets after the tragic killings of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Garner and other victims.”
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Lyric excerpt from http://genius.com/4869190http://genius.com/4869190
...[Pre-Hook]
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the bigger I shoot
[Hook: Assassin]
I said they treat me like a slave, cah' me black
Woi, we feel a whole heap of pain, cah' we black
And man a say they put me inna chains, cah' we black
Imagine now, big gold chains full of rocks
How you no see the whip, left scars pon' me back
But now we have a big whip parked pon' the block
All them say we doomed from the start, cah' we black
Remember this, every race start from the black*, jus 'member dat
-snip-
*Correction from a commenter [The onsite transcriber of those lyrics had written “block” instead of "black", but I agree that the word "black" is a much better fit for the meaning of that verse.]
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Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
Update: June 3, 2020
This post traces the saying "The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" from its inclusion in African American Thomas W. Talley's 1922 book Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise & Otherwise to Kendrick Lamar's 2015 Hip Hop record that has that saying as its title.
The content of this post is presented for historical, sociological, and cultural purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
-snip-
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/02/names-of-books-songs-movies-television.html for a modified version of this timeline that only includes the dates and the name/title of the book, song, movie, or television show that has "The Blacker The Berry/The Sweeter the Juice as its title or otherwise includes that saying.
****
TIMELINE FOR THE USE OF "THE BLACKER THE BERRY, THE SWEETER THE JUICE" AS A BOOK TITLE AND IN SONGS
These are the examples that I'm aware of. I'd appreciate information about any other examples.
1896 -"Blacker the berry the sweeter the juice" is quoted as a saying in the St. Mary's [Kansas] _Journal_, 12/17/1896. [Hat tip to Joseph Scott for this information. Read his June 2, 2020 comment in this post's comment thread.]
1922 - Thomas W. Talley, editor Negro Folk Rhymes: Wise & Otherwise
YOU LOVE YOUR GIRL
You loves yō' gal?
Well, I loves mine.
Yō' gal hain't common?
Well, my gal's fine.
I loves my gal,
She hain't no goose—
Blacker 'an blackberries,
Sweeter 'an juice.
[p. 95]http://www.gutenberg.org/files/27195/27195-h/27195-h.htm#Page_93 "Negro Folk Songs, Wise And Otherwise"; Gutenberg electronic edition. This collection of rhymes was originally published in 1922.
Explanation:
"Yo gal hain't common/Well, my gal's fine." = Your girlfriend isn't plain. Well, my girlfriend looks good [too]."
****
December 1923 - Edmonia Henderson's song "Black Man Blues".
The opening line of that song is "The blacker the berry/the sweeter the juice" [Hat tip to Anonymous February 22, 2020 for sharing this information.]
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ_8w61mcI8
for a sound file of that song.
****
1929 - [novel] The Blacker The Berry by Wallace Thurman
From http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/868440.The_Blacker_the_Berry_
The Blacker the Berry...
"One of the most widely read and controversial works of the Harlem Renaissance, The Blacker the Berry...was the first novel to openly explore prejudice within the Black community. This pioneering novel found a way beyond the bondage of Blackness in American life to a new meaning in truth and beauty.
Emma Lou Brown's dark complexion is a source of sorrow and humiliation -- not only to herself, but to her lighter-skinned family and friends and to the white community of Boise, Idaho, her home-town. As a young woman, Emma travels to New York's Harlem, hoping to find a safe haven in the Black Mecca of the 1920s. Wallace Thurman re-creates this legendary time and place in rich detail, describing Emma's visits to nightclubs and dance halls and house-rent parties, her sex life and her catastrophic love affairs, her dreams and her disillusions -- and the momentous decision she makes in order to survive.
A lost classic of Black American literature, The Blacker the Berry...is a compelling portrait of the destructive depth of racial bias in this country."
****
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Blacker_the_Berry
..."Variations in skin tone has historically related to European and Native American ancestry among African Americans, and the tangled history of slave societies, and benefits that some mixed-race children received from white fathers.* The topic of behavior related to differing skin tones has since been treated by other artists and writers, and the issue of skin bias has been studied as a sociological and psychological issue among academics.[2]
Despite the calls for Black Power and "Black is beautiful" in the mid-twentieth century, studies have found that skin tone bias continues. It is more openly discussed, studied and, at times, mocked.[2] The director Spike Lee has explored this topic, particularly in his film School Daze (1988), about students at a prestigious college (modeled on Spelman College and Morehouse College).
In 2001 Maxine S. Thompson and Verna M. Keith presented the results of a study on gender, skin tone and self efficacy. They found darker skin more problematic for women, for whom skin tone had more effect on self-esteem, especially for lower and working class women. Higher class women could escape the effects of skin color by other accomplishments. Skin tone presented less of a self-esteem issue for men, but did affect their sense of self-efficacy.[2]
...In the 1993 song Keep Ya Head Up by rapper Tupac Shakur, the novel's line "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" is referenced. The novel is also referenced in Kendrick Lamar's 2015 song "The Blacker the Berry"."**
-snip-
*It’s significant that the editors wrote “from their white fathers” and made no reference to the possibility of people who are mixed race having non-Black mothers.
**It's more accurate to say that these Hip Hop examples and other usages of the line "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" quote the saying and not necessarily the book with that title. However, the book is an early documented example of the use of Black folk's use of that saying to mean that dark skinned Black females are just as good if not better than other females.
****
1969 - The Isley Brothers- The Blacker The Berrie (a/k/a Black Berries)
From http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-brothers-isley-mw0000024667 "The Blacker The Berries (aka Black Berries) The Isley Brothers" AllMusic Review by Andrew Hamilton
"The late '60s and early '70s remain a favorite period in the Isley Brothers evolution. Ronald sung hard, and brothers O'Kelly and Rudolph supplied church-inspired backing whoops to his lead. The tunes had catchy titles and creative, rhyming lyrics. This recording is loaded with that rocking, "It's Your Thing" style. "The Blacker the Berry the Sweeter Juice" isn't about fruit but speaks of the desirability of dark-complexioned women."...
****
The Isley Brothers- The Blacker The Berrie (a/k/a Black Berries)
#TheIsleyBrothers Published on Nov 6, 2014
****
April 5, 1974- Foxy Brown movie
U"Pam Grier's character says "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" in her starring role in Foxy Brown." [Hat tip to Unknown February 25, 2017] for sharing this information.]
****
1980 Fame [movie]
The character Coco played by Irene Cara says "The blacker the berry/the sweeter the juice" to a White female dancer, indicating that the Black dancer Leroy doesn't like "vanilla". The White dancer's response was "Yes, but who wants Diabetes."
Warning- This exchange includes profanity. Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtnE4FnhV5o Fame (1980)-The Darker The Berry (claws come out).mpg, published by cosmojay, Feb 3, 2012
[Hat tip to Unknown, June 7, 2019 who sent a comment in to this post saying that Leroy said it [The blacker the berry etc.] I don't know if that commenter referred to the character Leroy in the movie Fame or in the television series with that same title.]
****
1993- Tupac's Hip Hop record Keep Ya Head Up
The first two lines of that rap are:
Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots"
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/07/2pac-keep-ya-head-up-with-lyrics_12.html for a pancocojams post on this rap.
Here's a response to a Yahoo.com question page about the second line of that rap:
From https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080508210732AAowkG2
"The darker the flesh then the deeper the roots? What do you think this means?" [The question and all responses are from 2008.]
♫Č.Ĵ.♫
"he was talkin about black people..."the darker you are the closer you are to your ancestors"...the darker the flesh(skin) then the deeper the roots(where it began, ancestors),"
-snip-
The responder alludes to Tupac's "Keep Ya Head Up" rap. The only other commenter who answered this, a blogger using the tag name "The Evil Genius", wrote "the darker your flesh is the closer you are to your ancestors."
-snip-
It's important to recognize that Tupac's "the darker the flesh, the deeper the roots" can be considered an expression of colorism, i.e. thinking that darker skinned people have more roots (or recognize and honor their roots-for instance their "blackness"- more than light skinned black people. That's significant because in the late 1960s and 1970s some afrocentric Black people accused light skinned Black people of not being "as black" as brown skinned or darker brown skinned Black people. And in 2008 some Black Americans labeled then candidate for US President Barack Obama as being "not Black enough" because he was mixed race and had no slave ancestors.
Usually colorism is thought of as people favoring light skinned people over dark skinned people, but being prejudiced against a person of color because of their light complexion is also a type of colorism.
****
January 27, 1995 - The Sweeter the Juice: A Family Memoir in Black and White by Shirlee Taylor Haizlip (Author)
"The Sweeter the Juice is a provocative memoir that goes to the heart of our American identity. Shirlee Taylor Haizlip, in an effort to reconcile the dissonance between her black persona and her undeniably multiracial heritage, started on a journey of discovery that took her over thousands of miles and hundreds of years. While searching for her mother's family, Haizlip confronted the deeply intertwined but often suppressed tensions between race and skin color.
We are drawn in by the story of an African-American family. Some members chose to "cross over" and "pass" for white while others enjoyed a successful black life. Their stories weave a tale of tangled ancestry, mixed blood, and identity issues from the 17th century to the present. The Sweeter the Juice is a memoir, a social history, a biography, and an autobiography. Haizlip gives to us the quintessential American story, unveiling truths about race, about our society, and about the ways in which we all perceive and judge one another." https://www.amazon.com/Sweeter-Juice-Family-Memoir-Black/dp/0671899333
****
1995 "blacker the berry" is part of an exchange in the movie Friday
Friday” [1995]
This line is spoken in an exchange between two Black young men [the character played by Ice Cube and the character played by Chris Tucker] after watching a young, dark skin Black woman jog past them.
The character played by Chris Tucker says "The older the berry the sweeter the juice" and the character played by Ice Cube corrected him saying "It’s blacker the berry the sweeter the juice”.
Warning: This exchange includes profanity. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PnZX5RVQsE
****
2002- The song "Run Tell That!" from the 2002 Broadway show Hairspray
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hairspray_(musical)
"Hairspray is an American musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues. In 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, plump teenager Tracy Turnblad's dream is to dance on The Corny Collins Show, a local TV dance program based on the real-life Buddy Deane Show.[1] When Tracy wins a role on the show, she becomes a celebrity overnight, and meets a colorful array of characters. She then launches a campaign to integrate the show. Hairspray is a social commentary on the injustices of parts of American society in the 1960s...
The musical's original Broadway production opened on August 15, 2002."
-snip-
Excerpt of the song "Run Tell That!"
[singer: Black male character "Seeweed"
I can't see
Why people look at me
And only see the color of my face
And then there's those
That try to help, god knows
But have to always put me in my place
Now i won't ask you to be color blind
'Cause if you pick the fruit
Then girl, you're sure to find...
The blacker the berry
The sweeter the juice
I could say it ain't so
But darlin', what's the use?
The darker the chocolate
The richer the taste
And that's where it's at...
...now run and tell that!!
ENSEMBLE
Run and tell that!
****
Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2xkGS5i9ko for a video clip of "Hairspray - Run And Tell That (with subtitles)"
-snip-
I believe that the lines quoted above from the song "Run Tell That!" from the 2002 Broadway show Hairspray mark the beginning of the sexualization of the saying "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice". Prior to that among Black people the saying served as an affirmation about the desirability of dark skinned females.
Another meaning that I've read online* that has been given to "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice is that it refers to things or people getting better with age. I don't think that was what most Black Americans meant when we use that saying (prior to that song). That meaning is also alluded to in Kendrick Lamar's 2015 Hip Hop record that is highlighted below.
*Here are responses from a Yahoo.com question pages about the meaning of "the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice":
From https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080709154038AAcFBr3
"What does this old saying mean the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice?" [The question and all of the responses are from 2008]
JaneB
"It means that Things improve with age"
**
soontobewed
"isn't it obvious? Look at a berry, when it is darker in color it tastes better becuase it has ripened. The more "ripened" the berry the better it tastes.."
**
♥Slim Diva♥™
"It refers to black women too. Whoo hoo!!!!!"
****
2006 - Field Mob - "Blacker The Berry" [Rap song] in the album Light Poles And Pine Trees
https://genius.com/Field-mob-blacker-the-berry-lyrics
In this song the rapper recollects his experiences and how he felt growing up being very dark skinned. This song includes the "blacker the berry" hook from Tupac's song "Keep Your Head Up".
There's one use of profanity in these lyrics [the word "sh&t"].
****
Apr 22, 2011 by Ableals - Jimmy Black - Blacker The Berry The Sweeter The Juice hip hop rap music video [video publishing date; This probably isn't the date that this song was released. I don't have any other information about this song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jywEvdhHChE
****
February 2015 Kendrick Lamar [Hip Hop] - The Blacker The Berry
WARNING: This song contains profanity, sexually explicit language, and the use of a form of the n word.
From http://www.eonline.com/news/624257/kendrick-lamar-s-fiery-new-song-the-blacker-the-berry-tackles-racism-and-violence-in-america-listen
"Kendrick Lamar's Grammy wins are further proof that he's undoubtedly one of the best artists in the rap game right now, but his latest work also shows that the 27-year-old is using his talent and status in the industry to deliver messages that matter.
The Compton rapper dropped a fiery new single on Monday titled "The Blacker the Berry" (inspired by the old saying "the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice," which was also famously used in Tupac Shakur's "Keep Your Head Up"), and not only does it have a crushing beat that inevitably causes you to head-nod for five minutes straight, but each lyric is laced with a powerful and emotional response to the ongoing race and violence issues in America.
Combine that with Kendrick's aggressive and passionate delivery, and you have a musical gem that evokes the frustrations and thoughts of protesters in the streets after the tragic killings of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Eric Garner and other victims.”
****
Lyric excerpt from http://genius.com/4869190http://genius.com/4869190
...[Pre-Hook]
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
The blacker the berry, the bigger I shoot
[Hook: Assassin]
I said they treat me like a slave, cah' me black
Woi, we feel a whole heap of pain, cah' we black
And man a say they put me inna chains, cah' we black
Imagine now, big gold chains full of rocks
How you no see the whip, left scars pon' me back
But now we have a big whip parked pon' the block
All them say we doomed from the start, cah' we black
Remember this, every race start from the black*, jus 'member dat
-snip-
*Correction from a commenter [The onsite transcriber of those lyrics had written “block” instead of "black", but I agree that the word "black" is a much better fit for the meaning of that verse.]
****
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Visitor comments are welcome.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Videos From The "After Midnight" Broadway Show
Edited by Azizi Powell
This post showcases five videos of the American Broadway show "After Midnight" which opened at the end of 2013. Information about "After Broadway" is also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes. Information about that
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the cast of "After Midnight" for their creative performances. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT "AFTER MIDNIGHT"
From http://ppc.broadway.com/shows/after-midnight/story/
"What Is the Story of After Midnight?
This jazzy 90-minute dance-centric concert musical doesn’t have a story, but the production numbers are loosely linked by the fictional setting, Harlem’s iconic Cotton Club.
What Is After Midnight Like?
...Fabulous fun! The incomparable Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars Orchestra sits in big-band formation on the stage of Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theatre, providing a swinging backdrop for a cast of great singers and dancers. The 90-minute-long show features the best of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and more composers, with raise-the-roof tap and jazz dancing choreographed by director Warren Carlyle. Add elegant costumes by fashion designer Isabel Toledo, and you’ve got a sophisticated evening everyone will love.
Is After Midnight Good for Kids?
A few songs are sexually suggestive, but the lyrics are likely to go over younger viewers’ heads. If your school-age child enjoys performances with no story but plenty of singing and dancing, After Midnight is a good choice for the family."
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES:
Example #1: AFTER MIDNIGHT REVIEW FINALE
shotymeisupandcummin, Published on Oct 24, 2013
****
Example #3: First Look at AFTER MIDNIGHT on Broadway
AfterMidnightNY, Published on Nov 1, 2013
A first look at the Original Broadway Cast of AFTER MIDNIGHT.
The lights dim... The music simmers... And the theater gets ready to blast into the stratosphere—as a company of 42 top-flight singers, dancers and musicians takes the stage to create what New York Magazine calls "an apotheosis of pure joy." It all happens at AFTER MIDNIGHT, the new Broadway phenomenon that catapults the greatest music of Duke Ellington and Harlem's Golden Age into the 21st century. The New York Times says, "It's hot, sweet and altogether glorious. You'll be in seventh heaven!"
Heart-stopping vocalists, eye-blurring tappers, rule-breaking dancers and chart-topping Special Guest Star singers—led by Grammy®-winner Fantasia, now through Feb. 9—join forces to create a singular theater experience. They're all joined onstage by Emmy®-winner Dulé Hill and The Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars, a 17-piece band hand-selected by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis. As the New York Post says, "Don't, under any circumstances, miss it!"
To learn more, visit www.AfterMidnightBroadway.com.
****
Example #4: After Midnight - Cotton Club Parade
Musicalsworld, Published on Nov 26, 2013
Extraits de "After Midnight", musical ouvert à Broadway en novembre 2013
****
Example #5: Go Stompin' & Swingin' with Footage of Fantasia, Dule Hill & Adriane Lenox in Broadway's After Midnight
TasiavilleVideos, Published on Nov 28, 2013
****
Thanks for visiting pancocojams.
Visitor comments are welcome.
This post showcases five videos of the American Broadway show "After Midnight" which opened at the end of 2013. Information about "After Broadway" is also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes. Information about that
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the cast of "After Midnight" for their creative performances. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT "AFTER MIDNIGHT"
From http://ppc.broadway.com/shows/after-midnight/story/
"What Is the Story of After Midnight?
This jazzy 90-minute dance-centric concert musical doesn’t have a story, but the production numbers are loosely linked by the fictional setting, Harlem’s iconic Cotton Club.
What Is After Midnight Like?
...Fabulous fun! The incomparable Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars Orchestra sits in big-band formation on the stage of Broadway’s Brooks Atkinson Theatre, providing a swinging backdrop for a cast of great singers and dancers. The 90-minute-long show features the best of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and more composers, with raise-the-roof tap and jazz dancing choreographed by director Warren Carlyle. Add elegant costumes by fashion designer Isabel Toledo, and you’ve got a sophisticated evening everyone will love.
Is After Midnight Good for Kids?
A few songs are sexually suggestive, but the lyrics are likely to go over younger viewers’ heads. If your school-age child enjoys performances with no story but plenty of singing and dancing, After Midnight is a good choice for the family."
****
FEATURED EXAMPLES:
Example #1: AFTER MIDNIGHT REVIEW FINALE
shotymeisupandcummin, Published on Oct 24, 2013
****
Example #3: First Look at AFTER MIDNIGHT on Broadway
AfterMidnightNY, Published on Nov 1, 2013
A first look at the Original Broadway Cast of AFTER MIDNIGHT.
The lights dim... The music simmers... And the theater gets ready to blast into the stratosphere—as a company of 42 top-flight singers, dancers and musicians takes the stage to create what New York Magazine calls "an apotheosis of pure joy." It all happens at AFTER MIDNIGHT, the new Broadway phenomenon that catapults the greatest music of Duke Ellington and Harlem's Golden Age into the 21st century. The New York Times says, "It's hot, sweet and altogether glorious. You'll be in seventh heaven!"
Heart-stopping vocalists, eye-blurring tappers, rule-breaking dancers and chart-topping Special Guest Star singers—led by Grammy®-winner Fantasia, now through Feb. 9—join forces to create a singular theater experience. They're all joined onstage by Emmy®-winner Dulé Hill and The Jazz at Lincoln Center All-Stars, a 17-piece band hand-selected by jazz legend Wynton Marsalis. As the New York Post says, "Don't, under any circumstances, miss it!"
To learn more, visit www.AfterMidnightBroadway.com.
****
Example #4: After Midnight - Cotton Club Parade
Musicalsworld, Published on Nov 26, 2013
Extraits de "After Midnight", musical ouvert à Broadway en novembre 2013
****
Example #5: Go Stompin' & Swingin' with Footage of Fantasia, Dule Hill & Adriane Lenox in Broadway's After Midnight
TasiavilleVideos, Published on Nov 28, 2013
****
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Visitor comments are welcome.
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