Afro Pop Remix

Questions: 1. Scared yet: CV19 what we know 2. Health: How you be? personally, family, and friends 3. Quarantine life: stir crazy yet? How is technology helping? What's up with Work/Exercise/Entertainment/Education? 4. Government response: local state federal 5. Future behavior: keep social distancing, hand washing, gloves masks wipes

(Bonus Artist: hidingtobefound)

Topics: Rodney King, Boyz II Men / Jodeci, Boyz In the Hood, Roc - Sitcom (Bonus Artist: Luck Pacheco)

1991 General Snapshots 1. President: George H. W. Bush 2. January - Gulf War: The Congress of the United States passes a resolution authorizing the use of military force to liberate Kuwait. 5 days later, Operation Desert Storm begins with airstrikes against Iraq. 3. January - Whitney Houstondelivers her now legendary rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" 4. February - Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated". 5. February - Tim Meadows and Adam Sandler join the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live. 6. March - An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles, California police officers. 7. July - Boxer Mike Tyson is arrested and charged with raping Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington in Indianapolis, Indiana. 8. July - Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested after the remains of eleven men and boys are found in his Milwaukee, Wisconsin apartment. Police soon find out that he is involved in six more murders. 9. August - Nickelodeon introduces its series of Nicktoons, with Doug, Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show the first three to air. 10. August - The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is first released in the United States. 11. October - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews both Supreme Court candidate Clarence Thomas and former aide Anita Hill, who alleges that Thomas sexually harassed her while she worked for him. 12. October - Jennifer Lopez joins the cast as one of the Fly Girls on the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color (she would leave the show after the next season). Other cast additions include future Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx. 13. November - Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson announces that he has HIV, effectively ending his NBA career. 14. November - Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury dies from AIDS at 45 years old, one day after making his diagnosis public. 15. December - The Cold War ends as President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet Union dissolves. 16. Open Comments 17. Top 3 Pop Songs 18. #1 - "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", Bryan Adams 19. #2 - "I Wanna Sex You Up", Color Me Badd 20. #3 - "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)", C+C Music Factory 21. Record of the Year: "Unforgettable" performed by Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole 22. Album of the Year: Unforgettable... with Love performed by Natalie Cole 23. Song of the Year: "Unforgettable" performed by Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole 24. Best New Artist: Marc Cohn 25. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female: Lisa Fischer for "How Can I Ease the Pain" & Patti LaBelle for "Burnin'" 26. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male: Luther Vandross for Power of Love 27. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Boyz II Men for "Cooleyhighharmony" 28. Best Rhythm & Blues Song: "Power of Love/Love Power" performed by Luther Vandross 29. Best Rap Solo Performance: LL Cool J for "Mama Said Knock You Out" 30. Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince for "Summertime" 31. Top 3 Movies 32. #1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day 33. #2. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves 34. #3. Beauty and the Beast 35. Notables: The Silence of the Lambs, New Jack City, The Five Heartbeats, A Rage in Harlem, Thelma & Louise, Jungle Fever, Point Break, and House Party 2 36. Top 3 TV Shows 37. #1 60 Minutes 38. #2 Roseanne 39. #3 Murphy Brown 40. Mea Culpa: Family Matters originated 9/22/1989 on ABC 41. Notables: The Party Machine with Nia Peeples, The Jerry Springer Show, The Montel Williams Show, Hammerman, & Roc. 42. Economic Snapshots 43. Avg. Income: 29.9k (29K) 44. New Home: 120k (previously 123K) 45. Avg Rent: 495 (465) 46. New Car: 16.8k (16K) 47. Harvard: 14.5k (13.5k) 48. Movie Ticket: 4.25 (3.50) 49. Gas: 1.12 (1.34) 50. Stamp: .25 (.25) 51. Social Scene: Police Beating of Rodney King 52. Early Life: Rodney King (@ 26 yrs. old), born in Sacramento, CA, was an American taxi driver who is best known for the 1991 police beatings and the 1992 riots as a result of the officers' trial. 53. Prior Record: In 1987, he pleaded no contest to a charge of battery. In 1989, King was imprisoned for robbery after robbing a store; he served one year of a two-year sentence. 54. 1991 Arrest: Rodney King attempted to outrun a police patrol car in March 1991. King had been drinking and feared he would be over the limit, driving under the influence charge would have seen King return to jail. King refused to pull over for the police and a high-speed chase ensued. Eventually, King was cornered, and he and the other occupants of the car were ordered to leave the vehicle and lie face down on the ground. King refused and was forcibly removed from the car. While on the ground the police beat and abused the three men. The Los Angeles Police Department then arrived on the scene; the original officers on the scene had been highway patrol. Rodney King resisted arrest and was tasered. King was then viciously beaten repeatedly while on the ground by police wielding batons. King continually attempted to stand up only to be met with a further hail of baton blows from the four police officers. King suffered from thirty-three baton blows and six kicks before having his arms and legs cuffed. Eight officers were involved in his arrest. George Halliday, a man who lived near the sight of the arrest, had filmed the arrest from the time that King was tasered. Halliday contacted the LAPD about his videotape, but the police department showed no interest in the footage. Halliday next presented the footage to a local TV station which aired the footage. It caused a sensation across the media. The footage made Rodney King's arrest a lightning rod for a more comprehensive discussion about police brutality against minorities. 55. Legal Proceedings: Rodney King had suffered facial fractures, lacerations and a broken ankle from his arrest. The city awarded King damages amounting to 3.8 million dollars as well as covering his legal costs which totaled to close to two million dollars. He was also not charged with drink driving or evading arrest due to the time between the incident and the start of legal proceedings. Four LAPD officers were charged with using excessive force. The legal case against the officers was mired in controversy from the start as the initial judge, Bernard Kamins was removed, and the trial received a change of venue. Warren Christopher also began a commission to investigate accusations of police discrimination. Three of the officers charged were acquitted, and the fourth faced a no verdict. The court's decision shocked the nation. The mayor of Los Angeles, Tom Bradley, and the President of the United States of America, George Bush, both declared they could not understand the verdict and condemned the officers involved. Many African Americans considered the trial a whitewash and were incensed. Following the 1992 Riots, the officers were tried in a federal court, and two were found guilty and sentenced to thirty months in prison. 56. Rodney King Riots: Following the court's verdict and the release of the officers, widespread civil unrest erupted in North America. The worst of the rioting was confined to LA, but Las Vegas, San Francisco, Atlanta and even Toronto in Canada experienced violence. The 1992 LA Riots became known as the Rodney King Riots due to their link to the court case. King appeared on TV during the riots to appeal for calm. Before the verdict was announced the police, force had been expecting trouble, money for overtime and a delay in the reading of the verdict were granted to give police time to prepare. Rioting started at a liquor store in Normandie. LAPD officers attempted to make an arrest a hostile crowd surrounded them and forced them to retreat. TV coverage of the violence encouraged more people to take to the streets, and the police communications proved wholly inadequate to deal with the spread of the violence. The rioters began destroying property and attacking people going about their business. Over a thousand firearms were looted, and some fires were started as night set in. The riots spread throughout the city and emergency workers came under gunfire as they attempted to tackle the fires and help the wounded. A curfew was declared, and the National Guard began deploying. Despite this the second day of looting and arson took place. Rioting spread to Hollywood, Inglewood, Long Beach and Compton. Police was criticized for focusing their attention on defending the wealthier areas of LA such as Beverley Hills. Other minority neighborhoods were forced to form militias to protect their property. Korean shopkeepers were involved in a shoot-out with rioters in Koreatown. On the third day of rioting, the Federal government took direct control of all military in the area and began overseeing the response to the riots. Troops and police officers from other regions of California started pouring into the city. On the fourth day, over thirteen thousand soldiers were deployed on the streets of LA, and the rioting was slowly quelled. The riot was spread over six days, but troops remained in the area for weeks afterward. Fifty-five people died during the riots and over two thousand hospitalized. A billion dollars' worth of damage had been done; the worst affected were the Korean community. Eleven thousand people were arrested during the rioting, but because of the sheer volume of prisoners, police were unable to prosecute the majority. 57. King After the Riots: Rodney King continued to have run-ins with the law and was sometimes arrested after the 1992 Riots. In 2007, King was shot in an attempted robbery. King appeared in a reality TV show, Sober House, which covered celebrities in rehab. 2012 saw King publish his memoirs, The Riot Within: My Journey from Rebellion to Redemption. Rodney King fathered a daughter with Carmen Simpson when they were both teenagers. In 1985, he married Daneta Lyles, and they had a daughter together. The pair divorced in 1988. King then married Crystal Waters, with whom he also had a daughter. They divorced in 1996. King had been arrested for assaulting both his wives. In 2010, King began living with Cynthia Kelly, and it was she who found him in the swimming pool on 17 June 2012. King was pronounced dead by medical staff, and plenty of drugs and alcohol were found in his system. 58. The King beating began a wave of reforms for the Los Angeles Police Department, including tighter rules on when officers can use force, more minority officers, and stricter term limits for police chiefs. 59. Question: What is the lesson to be learned? 60. Question: What do we teach the children about dealing with cops? 61. Top Black Songs from the top 40 62. #2 - "I Wanna Sex You Up", Color Me Badd 63. #3 - "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)", C+C Music Factory 64. #4 - "Rush Rush", Paula Abdul 65. #8 - "I Like the Way (The Kissing Game)", Hi-Five 66. #9 - "The First Time", Surface 67. #11 - "Motownphilly", Boyz II Men 68. #12 - "Because I Love You (The Postman Song)", Stevie B 69. #13 - "Someday", Mariah Carey 70. #16 - "All the Man That I Need", Whitney Houston 71. #18 - "I Adore Mi Amor" , Color Me Badd 72. #19 - "Love Will Never Do (Without You)", Janet Jackson 73. #20 - "Good Vibrations", Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch 74. #21 - "Justify My Love", Madonna 75. #22 - "Emotions", Mariah Carey 76. #24 - "Romantic", Karyn White 77. #25 - "Hold You Tight", Tara Kemp 78. #26 - "I Don't Wanna Cry", Mariah Carey 79. #28 - "Every Heartbeat", Amy Grant 80. #29 - "Sensitivity", Ralph Tresvant 81. #30 - "Touch Me (All Night Long)", Cathy Dennis 82. #31 - "I've Been Thinking About You", Londonbeat 83. #32 - "Do Anything", Natural Selection 84. #34 - "Coming Out of the Dark", Gloria Estefan 85. #35 - "It Ain't Over 'til It's Over", Lenny Kravitz 86. #36 - "Here We Go", C+C Music Factory 87. #38 - "Summertime", DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince 88. #40 - "P.A.S.S.I.O.N.", Rythm Syndicate 89. Vote: 90. Top R&B Albums 91. Jan - I'm Your Baby Tonight - Whitney Houston 92. Feb - The Future - Guy 93. Feb - Do Me Again - Freddie Jackson 94. Mar - Business as Usual - EPMD 95. Apr - Ralph Tresvant - Ralph Tresvant 96. Apr - Hi-Five - Hi-Five 97. Apr - New Jack City - Soundtrack / Various artists 98. Jun - Power of Love - Luther Vandross 99. Jul - Make Time for Love - Keith Washington 100. Aug - Jungle Fever - Soundtrack / Stevie Wonder 101. Aug - Cooleyhighharmony - Boyz II Men 102. Sep - Boyz n the Hood - Soun

Topics: Rodney King, Boyz II Men / Jodeci, Boyz In the Hood, Roc - Sitcom (Bonus Artist: Luck Pacheco)

1991 General Snapshots 1. President: George H. W. Bush 2. January - Gulf War: The Congress of the United States passes a resolution authorizing the use of military force to liberate Kuwait. 5 days later, Operation Desert Storm begins with airstrikes against Iraq. 3. January - Whitney Houstondelivers her now legendary rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" 4. February - Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that "Kuwait is liberated". 5. February - Tim Meadows and Adam Sandler join the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live. 6. March - An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles, California police officers. 7. July - Boxer Mike Tyson is arrested and charged with raping Miss Black America contestant Desiree Washington in Indianapolis, Indiana. 8. July - Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested after the remains of eleven men and boys are found in his Milwaukee, Wisconsin apartment. Police soon find out that he is involved in six more murders. 9. August - Nickelodeon introduces its series of Nicktoons, with Doug, Rugrats and The Ren & Stimpy Show the first three to air. 10. August - The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is first released in the United States. 11. October - The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee interviews both Supreme Court candidate Clarence Thomas and former aide Anita Hill, who alleges that Thomas sexually harassed her while she worked for him. 12. October - Jennifer Lopez joins the cast as one of the Fly Girls on the Fox sketch comedy series In Living Color (she would leave the show after the next season). Other cast additions include future Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx. 13. November - Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson announces that he has HIV, effectively ending his NBA career. 14. November - Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury dies from AIDS at 45 years old, one day after making his diagnosis public. 15. December - The Cold War ends as President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev resigns and the Soviet Union dissolves. 16. Open Comments 17. Top 3 Pop Songs 18. #1 - "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You", Bryan Adams 19. #2 - "I Wanna Sex You Up", Color Me Badd 20. #3 - "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)", C+C Music Factory 21. Record of the Year: "Unforgettable" performed by Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole 22. Album of the Year: Unforgettable... with Love performed by Natalie Cole 23. Song of the Year: "Unforgettable" performed by Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole 24. Best New Artist: Marc Cohn 25. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female: Lisa Fischer for "How Can I Ease the Pain" & Patti LaBelle for "Burnin'" 26. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male: Luther Vandross for Power of Love 27. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Boyz II Men for "Cooleyhighharmony" 28. Best Rhythm & Blues Song: "Power of Love/Love Power" performed by Luther Vandross 29. Best Rap Solo Performance: LL Cool J for "Mama Said Knock You Out" 30. Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince for "Summertime" 31. Top 3 Movies 32. #1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day 33. #2. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves 34. #3. Beauty and the Beast 35. Notables: The Silence of the Lambs, New Jack City, The Five Heartbeats, A Rage in Harlem, Thelma & Louise, Jungle Fever, Point Break, and House Party 2 36. Top 3 TV Shows 37. #1 60 Minutes 38. #2 Roseanne 39. #3 Murphy Brown 40. Mea Culpa: Family Matters originated 9/22/1989 on ABC 41. Notables: The Party Machine with Nia Peeples, The Jerry Springer Show, The Montel Williams Show, Hammerman, & Roc. 42. Economic Snapshots 43. Avg. In

Topics: A Black Renaissance?, Mariah Carey, House Party, In Living Color / The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Bonus Artist: hidingtobefound) 1990 General Snapshots 1. George Bush Sr. President 2. January - United States invasion of Panama: General Manuel Noriega, the deposed "strongman of Panama", surrenders to American forces. 3. January - Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office in Richmond, Virginia. 4. January - Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting. 5. February - James "Buster" Douglas knocks out Mike Tyson to win the World Heavyweight Boxing crown. 6. February - A smoking ban takes effect on all domestic U.S. flights of less than six hours. 7. March - Greyhound bus drivers' strike for higher pay. 8. April - STS-31: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched aboard Space Shuttle Discovery. 9. June - Nelson Mandela tours North America, visiting 3 Canadian cities and 8 U.S. cities. 10. July - George H. W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act, designed to protect disabled Americans from discrimination. 11. August - Gulf War: Iraq invades Kuwait, eventually leading to the Gulf War. 12. September - Chris Rock makes Saturday Night Live debut. 13. October - Evander Holyfield defeats James "Buster" Douglas to become the heavyweight boxing champion. 14. November - Sharon Pratt Kelly is elected Mayor of the District of Columbia, becoming the first black woman to head a major U.S. city. She takes office January 2, 1991. 15. Top 3 Pop Songs 16. #1 "Hold On" Wilson Phillips 17. #2 "It Must Have Been Love" Roxette 18. #3 "Nothing Compares 2 U" Sinéad O'Connor 19. Record of the Year - "Another Day in Paradise" – Phil Collins 20. Album of the Year - Quincy Jones (producer & artist) for Back on the Block 21. Song of the Year - "From a Distance" performed by Bette Midler 22. Best New Artist - Mariah Carey 23. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female - Anita Baker for Compositions 24. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male - Luther Vandross for "Here and Now" 25. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group - Ray Charles & Chaka Khan for "I'll Be Good to You" 26. Best Rhythm & Blues Song - "U Can't Touch This" performed by M.C. Hammer 27. Best Rap Solo Performance - M.C. Hammer for "U Can't Touch This" 28. Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group - Big Daddy Kane, Ice T, Kool Moe Dee, Melle Mel, Quincy D. III & Quincy Jones for "Back on the Block" 29. Top 3 Movies 30. #1 Ghost 31. #2 Home Alone 32. # 3 Pretty Woman 33. Other Notables: 34. Top 3 TV Shows 35. Cheers 36. 60 Minutes 37. Roseanne 38. Debuts: In Living Color, True Colors, Brewster Place, The Fresh Prince 39. Economic Snapshots 40. New Home: 123k (previously 120K) 41. Avg Rent: 465 (425) 42. Avg. Income: 29k (27K) 43. New Car: 16k (15K) 44. Harvard: 13.5k (12.7k) 45. Movie Ticket: 4 3.50 - same 46. Gas: 1.34 (.97) 47. Stamp: .25 (.25) 48. Social Scene: Pop Culture Dominance and Influence 49. Politics: Colin Powell, Douglas Wilder, Congressional Black Caucus @ 25 (John Lewis 2nd term) 50. Business: Ebony/Jet, Russel Simmons, Reginald F. Lewis 51. Sports: Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Mike Tyson, Barry Sanders, Jerry Rice, Barry Bonds, Ken Griffey Jr. 52. Music: Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney, Janet Jackson, MC Hammer, Anita Baker 53. Movies: Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Morgan Freeman, Spike Lee, Robert Townsend 54. Television: Oprah (Daytime), Cosby (Prime time), Aresnio (Nighttime) 55. Open Comments: 56. Question: Assimilation? OK, but who is changing who? Are we changing America or is America Changing us? 57. Music Scene 58. Black Songs from the Top 40 59. #4 "Poison" Bell Biv DeVoe 60. #6 "Vision of Love" Mariah Carey 61. #8 "Hold On" En Vogue 62. #11 "Do Me!" Bell Biv DeVoe 63. #13 "Pump Up the Jam" Technotronic 64. #14 "Opposites Attract" Paula Abdul and The Wild Pair 65. #15 "Escapade" Janet Jackson 66. #17 "Close to You" Maxi Priest 67. #21 "All Around the World" Lisa Stansfield 68. #22 "I Wanna Be Rich" Calloway 69. #23 "Rub You the Right Way" Johnny Gill 70. #24 "She Ain't Worth It" Glenn Medeiros and Bobby Brown 71. #26 "The Power" Snap! 72. #30 "Two to Make It Right" Seduction 73. #33 "Step by Step" New Kids on the Block 74. #36 "I Don't Have the Heart" James Ingram 75. #38 "Rhythm Nation" Janet Jackson 76. #41 "Everything" Jody Watley 77. #42 "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" Soul II Soul featuring Caron Wheeler 78. #43 "Here and Now" Luther Vandross 79. Top RnB Albums 80. January Tender Lover Babyface 81. January Back on the Block Quincy Jones 82. April Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em MC Hammer 83. June Poison Bell Biv DeVoe 84. June Johnny Gill Johnny Gill 85. August I'll Give All My Love to You Keith Sweat 86. December I'm Your Baby Tonight Whitney Houston 87. Featured Artist: Mariah Angela Carey, (Songbird) singer, songwriter, record producer, actress and philanthropist 88. Childhood - Born to Patricia (Hickey), an Irish American mezzo-soprano opera singer, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer. They got divorced when Carey was only three. Her first public performance was at the age of six. By the age of sixteen, she was skipping classes to write songs and her brother, Morgan, paid for her first recording session. She finally graduated from Harborfields High School, in 1987. 89. Career - Before Carey got her big break, she worked as a temp and juggled with a few odd jobs such as a beautician, hair sweeper in a salon, waitress and as a coat check girl. After several years of struggling, Carey began singing background vocals for the pop and salsa singer-songwriter Brenda Starr in the late 1980s. Additionally, Carey wrote four songs with Ben Margulies, which solely constituted her demo tape. Margulies was a drummer, guitarist, piano player and singer. (One of Margulies's bandmates went to high school with Mariah's older brother) Starr ultimately helped Carey land a record contract by giving her demo tape to Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola. In 1988, Mottola signed her***. 90. In June of 1990, her self-titled album, 'Mariah Carey', which contained four No.1 hits were released. It was the best-selling album of 1991 and has been certified nine times Platinum. 91. Aside from her voice, she has become known for her songwriting. Yahoo Music editor Jason Ankeny wrote, "She earned frequent comparison to rivals Whitney Houston and Celine Dion but did them both one better by composing all of her own material." Also, according to Billboard magazine, she was the most successful artist of the 1990s in the United States. Additionally, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) lists Carey as the third best-selling female artist of all-time behind Madonna, Rhianna, maybe Taylor Swift. 92. Open Comments: 93. Point #1 – Divas status is earned. (She stuck to her guns re: song writing / Dunked on everyone / Checked Eminem) 94. Pont #2 – Studio performer, but not studio tricks. 95. Point #3 – The Christmas Song 96. Question: Is Mariah a "Soul" singer? 97. Movie Scene: House Party," …an infectious, engaging comedy starring the rap duo Kid 'N Play." 98. Plot: Although Kid has been grounded by his father, he sneaks out for a party at his friend Play's house. But Kid has no clue about the trouble that awaits him in the form of three thugs from school. 99. Release date: March 9, 1990 / Rotten Tomatoes: 93% 4.5 Stars 100. Budget - $2.5m, / Box office - $26.4m 101. Open Comments: 102. Point #1: Cast is great (Tisha & Martin broke out) 103. Point #2: First truly successful "Hood" comedy franchise. (4! sequels) 104. Point #3: Not possible without the success of Robert and Spike. Director said the project only got the green light because of the recent box office success of "black" movies. 105. Question: What are some of your house party war stories? 106. Television Scene 107. #1 - In Living Color (1990–1994): [IMDB Rating: 8.1/10] Keenen Ivory Wayans (@ wasn't looking to do a TV show. In 1988, he was riding high on the success of his cult hit I'm Gonna Git You Sucka and contemplating his next movie. But he took a meeting with a fledgling network called Fox, which made an offer he couldn't refuse. "They told me I could do whatever I wanted," Wayans, 61, recalls. What he wanted was to do a show like Saturday Night Live only much, much edgier. Homey Da Clown, Homeboy Shopping Network, Men on Films, Fire Marshall Bill, Oswald Bates, Wanda, The Fly Girls — the skits Wayans and his mostly African American cast performed each week pushed the envelope not just of TV's color barrier but of TV comedy, won an Emmy and incubated the careers of stars Jim Carrey, Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Lopez, and several members of the Wayans family. 108. Open Comments: 109. Question: Chapelle or In Living Color? 110. #2 - The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990–1996) [MDB Rating: 7.9/10]: A streetwise, poor young man from Philadelphia is sent by his mother to live with his aunt, uncle and cousins in their Bel-Air mansion. 111. Open Comments 112. Point #1 - Will and Jazzy were supposed to do the movie House Party 113. Point #2 - Quincy is doing the most! - Fresh Prince, a collaboration of Quincy Jones and the then-married team of Andy and Susan Borowitz, was based loosely on the life of Will Smith's then-manager Benny Medina (and on the lifestyle of Jones' own family) and ran on NBC from 1990-96. NBC was wary of a project starring a rapper, and the show was derided at first by some for a lack of grit. Ultimately, critiques proved ignorant, as the sitcom became part of the cultural DNA of the 1990s. "The Cosbys were affluent," said Quincy Jones in 2015, "but the Banks' were wealthy. I don't think you'd ever seen a wealthy African-American family on television until Fresh Prince, and you definitely hadn't seen a kid from the hip-hop generation until Fresh Prince." 114. Open Comments: 115. Question: Why wasn't this just "Different Strokes" - Pt. 2? 116. Vote: Best/most important/favorite pop culture item from 1990?

Topic: Transitioning from Gen-X to Gen-Y. (Born 1980-1994) (Bonus Artitst: Luck Pacheco) Question #1: Millennials, who are you, and what do you want? (What motivated you when you were 20 and just starting out) Question #2: Favorite memories of growing up in the 90's? Question #3: Why are you guys so sensitive, spoiled, and lazy? Question #4: Who/what represents the best of your generation? Question #5: Thoughts on Gen Z? (Born 1995-2015)

Topics: 80's Tech, MC Hammer, Do The Right Thing, The Arsenio Hall Show (Bonus Artist: Luck Pacheco)

1989 Notes 1. General Snapshots 2. George Bush Sr. President 3. Feb - Barbara Harris is the first woman (and first black woman) consecrated as a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. 4. Mar - Exxon Valdez oil spill: In Alaska's Prince William Sound the Exxon Valdez spills 240,000 barrels (38,000 m3) of oil after running aground. 5. Apr - Bill White becomes president of baseball's National League, becoming the first African American to head a major sports league. 6. Apr - Trisha Meili is attacked while jogging in New York City's Central Park; as her identity remains secret for years, she becomes known as the "Central Park Jogger." 7. May - President Bush vetoes a minimum-wage bill passed by Congress on May 17 that would have increased the minimum wage to $4.55 an hour. 8. Jun - In Texas v. Johnson, the United States Supreme Court ruled that burning the Flag of the United States was protected speech under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. 9. Jun - In Penry v. Lynaugh, the Supreme Court rules that states can execute murderers as young as 16 or who are mentally retarded. 10. Jul - In Webster v. Reproductive Health Services, the Supreme Court gives the state's new authority to restrict abortions. 11. Aug - President Bush nominates United States Army Gen. Colin Powell as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, making him the first African American to hold that position. 12. Aug - Hughey P. Newton was murdered in Oakland, California by Tyrone Robinson, a member of the Black Guerrilla Family. 13. Aug - Yusef Hawkins is shot in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York, sparking racial tensions between African Americans and Italian Americans. 14. Nov - Douglas Wilder wins the Virginia governor's race, becoming the first elected African American governor in the United States. 15. Nov - David Dinkins becomes the first African American mayor of New York City. 16. Nov - Congress passes legislation to raise the minimum wage from $3.35 to $4.25 an hour by April 1991. Bush signs this bill on November 17. 17. Nov - Clarence Page 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary 18. Nov - Denzel Washington: First African American actor to receive two Best Supporting Actor nominations. Cry Freedom / Glory (Won) 19. Misc.: Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first African American to lead a major United States political party. 20. Misc.: The first of 24 Global Positioning System satellites is placed into orbit. 21. Open Comments: 22. Top 3 Pop Songs 23. #1 "Look Away" Chicago 24. #2 "My Prerogative" Bobby Brown 25. #3 "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" Poison 26. Record of the Year: Bette Midler for "Wind Beneath My Wings" 27. Album of the Year: Bonnie Raitt for Nick of Time 28. Song of the Year: "Wind Beneath My Wings" performed by Bette Midler 29. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female: Anita Baker for "Giving You the Best That I Got" 30. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male: Bobby Brown for "Every Little Step" 31. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Soul II Soul & Caron Wheeler for "Back to Life" 32. Best Rhythm & Blues Song: "If You Don't Know Me By Now" performed by Simply Red 33. Best Rap Performance: Young MC for "Bust a Move" 34. Open Comments 35. Top Movies 36. #1 - Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 37. #2 Batman 38. #3 Back to the Future Part II 39. Other Notables: Look Who's Talking, Dead Poets Society, Lethal Weapon 2, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Disney, Ghostbusters II, The Little Mermaid Disney, Born on the Fourth of July, Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, Lean on Me, Field of Dreams, Weekend at Bernie's, When Harry Met Sally..., Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Harlem Nights, The War of the Roses, Steel Magnolias, Glory, and Driving Miss Daisy*. 40. Top 3 TV Shows 41. #1 - The Cosby Show 42. #2 - Roseanne 43. #3 - Cheers 44. Debuts: Saved by the Bell, American Gladiators, Doogie Howser, M.D., Baywatch, America's Funniest Home Videos, COPS, Seinfeld, and The Simpsons 45. Economic Snapshot: 46. New Home: 120K - previously 91,777 47. Avg Rent: 425 - p. 420 48. Avg. Income: 37K - p. 24k 49. New Car: 15K - p. 10,432 50. Harvard: 12,700 - p. 12,015 51. Movie Ticket: 3.50 - same 52. Gas: .97 - p. .91 53. Stamp: .25 - same 54. Social Scene: Top Tech of The 80's 55. Mobile Tech 56. Sony Walkman: Before the iPod effectively killed off an entire industry, the Sony Walkman was the original, must-have portable cassette player. Unlike portable radio players, the Japan-made Walkman allowed people to choose what to listen to via portable headphones, and make playlists on tape, alongside FM and AM radio frequencies. Like with Texas Instrument's Speak and Spell, the first model hit shelves in the late 1970s, but it rose to prominence during the two decades that followed. So ubiquitous it became that the word Walkman even entered the English dictionary in 1986. The model pictured is the WM-F77. 57. Nokia-Mobira Cityman 900: These days, the mobile phone is so far advanced we barely even call it a mobile phone any more, but back in the '80s the sheer thought of carrying a phone any further than the length of a coiled plastic chord seemed fantasy at best. Then along came a handful of firms, including a certain Finnish outfit by the name of Nokia-Mobira and made portable phone calls an actual reality. Looking back the sheer size of it is almost laughable (18cm high and 760g in weight to be precise), but it was practically lightweight compared to the colossal Talkman, which weighed in at shocking 5.5kg! Still, it put Nokia on the map and set the stage for the firm's dominance to come in the late '90 and early '00s. 58. The Boombox: Much like the VHS player, the humble Boombox was more of a collective movement than the work of one particular model, but it still became one of the most iconic devices of the late '80s. Again, to keep things on message with this feature, the classic Boombox wasn't just a powerful all-in-one music player (with AM/FM radio and multiple cassette decks) it was also a portable music player (if you were willing to lug it around). While its size and battery-powered portability eventually saw it go the way of the dodo in and around the mid '90s, the 'ghetto blaster' became intertwined with the rise of hip hop in the States and secured itself a place in the annals of gadget lore. 59. Sharp pocket computer: The 1980s was the decade of the microprocessor, led by the likes of Sharp and its range of pocket computers. These gadgets resembled calculators but worked in a similar way to how we use keyboards on modern-day PCs and laptops. Below a 24-digit dot matrix LCD display sat a full QWERTY-style keyboard you could use to program BASIC code. The computer's battery was said to last 200 hours and it even came with a connector that let you attach a printer or tape drive. 60. Epson ET-10 Pocket TV: If you haven't already twigged, there's a bit of a pattern forming with this feature - good ol' portability. From music on the move to phone calls away from home, handheld technology helped define the decade and every single one that's followed. And so, it was the turn of the humble TV, already shrinking as a regular set, to get the micro treatment. The ET-10 from Epson was one of the first, and the most popular, with its two-inch liquid crystal display offering proper TV viewing while out and about (and in a decent spot to catch the analogue signal). With a five-hour battery, the ET-10 was a proper little dynamo and foreshadowed the portable TV experience we take for granted now with tablets and smartphones. 61. Casio Databank: It's a testament to just how cool and iconic the Casio Databank watches became - they're still sold in various models and designs today. One of the original models of this calculator watch, the gold version of the DBC 610 (pictured), was first released in 1985 and later re-released due to popular demand. The designs of these modern versions have barely deviated from the original and still feature a membrane keyboard, with Mode and Adjust physical buttons on the side. 62. Gaming Tech 63. Nintendo Entertainment System: Another iconic Japanese import of the 1980s was the Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES. A remodeled version of the company's Family Computer, or Famicom, the 8-bit NES was originally designed to be a joint venture between Nintendo and Atari until a dispute over licensing meant Nintendo decided to go it alone. It helped lift the gaming industry out of the slump of 1983 by offering easier-to-use controllers, standardized graphics and a wider variety of game genres. It brought hugely popular arcade games, including Donkey Kong, to home TVs. 64. Nintendo Game Boy: Fresh off the success of its Nintendo Entertainment System, the Japanese giant launched a handheld version of is 8-bit console called the Nintendo Game Boy in 1989. It effectively used the same A and B controls and D pad seen on the NES, positioned below a 4.7cm x 4.3xm "pea soup" green LCD display. Using ROM cartridges also similar in design to those used on the NES, these games could be inserted and removed on the back of the device. The Game Boy ran on four AA batteries and was an incredibly robust console, making it a popular choice among kids. The Game Boy and its successor the Game Boy Color have sold in excess of 118 million units and spawned several later models, namely the Game Boy Lite and Game Boy Advance. 65. Simon: Another classic from the 1980s that is still sold today is the Simon game. Named after the Simon Says game, the toy's premise is simple – the colored panels light up and you must repeat the pattern and tones it creates. Yet despite this simple gameplay, it was a great feat of engineering at the time of release in 1978 and became a pop culture icon during the 1980s. 66. Speak and Spell: One of the world's first handheld PCs and gaming consoles, the educational Speak and Spell from Texas Instruments was unveiled during the 1978 Consumer Electronic Shows. Its visual display was among the first of its kind and it used interchangeable cartridges to let children play different games, aimed at helping to improve their spelling and vocabulary. It became one of the iconic toys of the 1980s until its final model was released in 1992, and its use of the first single-chip microcontroller and speech synthesizer paved the way for many of the gadgets we use today. 67. Social Media Tech 68. Polaroid Sun AF 660: Polaroid cameras have seen a resurgence of late, thanks in part to the release of a classic-looking digital model called One Step Plus. Yet the original designs, such as the Polaroid Autofocus Lightmixer 660 pictured, can still be found on auction sites selling for decent sums. Part of the Polaroid 600 series, the Autofocus 660 (also known as the AF 660) had an 116mm lens and was the first in the range to use Polaroid's patented Sonar Autofocus technology. This system used sensors to establish how far away a subject was, using sonar pulses, to achieve an accurate autofocus shot. 69. Computing Tech 70. Apple Macintosh 128K: Long before Steve Jobs debuted the iPhone on stage in Cupertino in 2007, his company specialized in personal computers. The first of which was known as the Apple Macintosh. It was later renamed the Macintosh 128K to differentiate it from its successor, the Macintosh 512K. Released to great fanfare in 1984, Alien director Ridley Scott created the now-infamous advert for the computer, broadcast during that year's Superbowl. The Macintosh 128K got its name by the fact it ran on 128K of RAM. It had a 9in CRT monitor, single-sided floppy disk drive and featured a handle on the top that meant it could be moved from place to place. 71. Smart Home Tech 72. The Clapper: Sadly not every gadget that came out of the '80s set the precedent for a bloodline of tech to come, but hey, there's something pretty satisfying about clapping your hands (or whichever body parts you preferred using) to turn off a lamp. Plugging into a power socket in your wall, the Clapper was basically a sound activated on/off switch that could link up to devices for hours of clap-controlled hilarity. It didn't work that great and was prone to being set off by anything from coughs to dog barks. Still, it looked good in the movies, right? 73. VHS player/VCR recorder: Okay, with so many different players that helped make VHS the preferred video format in the '80s (sorry BetaMax), it's hard to nail down particular model that made all the difference, but it just goes to prove how influential those chunky video cassettes became in the '80s and '90s. From Panasonic to JVC, all the big and aspiring electronics giants had their own player and future fortunes were made as the home video entertainment market boomed. Now you could buy films and watch them in the comfort of your home own home. More importantly, you could eventually record TV content as well. Grainy compilations of Red Dwarf and Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles? Yes please! 74. Only thing missing was the internet 75. Open Comments: 76. Music Scene: 77. Top Black songs from Billboard Top 40 Chart 78. #2 "My Prerogative" Bobby Brown 79. #4 "Straight Up" Paula Abdul 80. #5 "Miss You Much" Janet Jackson 81. #6 "Cold Hearted" Paula Abdul 82. #8 "Girl You Know It's True" Milli Vanilli 83. #10 "Giving You the Best That I Got" Anita Baker 84. #14 "Don't Wanna Lose You" Gloria Estefan 85. #16 "Girl I'm Gonna Miss You" Milli Vanilli 86. #19 "On Our Own" Bobby Brown 87. #21 "Blame It on the Rain" Milli Vanilli 88. #25 "Like a Prayer" Madonna 89. #28 "Baby Don't Forget My Number" Milli Vanilli 90. #30 "Forever Your Girl" Paula Abdul 91. #33 "Wild Thing" Tone Lōc 92. #36 "Buffalo Stance" Neneh Cherry 93. #46 "Real Love" Jody Watley 94. Vote: 95. Top RnB Albums 96. Jan - Giving You the Best That I Got, Anita Baker 97. Jan - Karyn White, Karyn White 98. Mar - Don't Be Cruel, Bobby Brown 99. Apr - Let's Get It Started, MC Hammer 100. Apr – Guy, Guy 101. May - The Great Adventures of Slick Rick, Slick Rick 102. May - Feet High and Rising, De La Soul 103. Jul - Walking with a Panther, LL Cool J 104. Aug - Big Tyme, Heavy D and the Boyz 105. Sep - 2 Keep On Movin', Soul II Soul 106. Sep - Unfinished Business, EPMD 107. Sep - No One Can Do It Better, The D.O.C. 108. Oct - Tender Lover, Babyface 109. Nov - Silky Soul, Frankie Beverly and Maze 110. Nov - Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, Janet Jackson 111. Dec - Stay with Me Regina Belle 112. Vote: 113. Featured Artist: MC Hammer, Stanley Kirk Burrell (@27 Yrs. old) 114. Childhood & Early Life: Born and raised in Oakland, California. He was the youngest of his 6 siblings and lived in a government housing project apartment in East Oakland. His father, Lewis Burrell, worked as warehouse supervisor while his mother was a secretary. Interested in baseball from his early boyhood, he spent time

Topics: Gangs, Keith Sweat, Al. B. Sure!, Bobby Brown, Coming to America, A Different World (Bonus Artist: hidingtobefound)

Snapshots 1. Ronald Reagan President (Last Year!) 2. Jan - Doug Williams super bowl [Two weeks earlier, CBS commentator Jimmy the Greek had been fired for remarking that blacks were better at sports because of slave plantation breeding techniques: "During the slave period, the slave owner would breed his big black with his big woman so that he would have a big black kid — that's where it all started."] 3. Feb – Winter Olympics: Jamaican Bobsled team! Debi Thomas 1988 winter Olympics Bronze medal - The best African American figure skater in history 4. Jul - Jessie Jackson keep hope alive speech at the DNC 5. Jul - The first ever edition of "Shark Week" airs on Discovery Channel. 6. Aug - Yo! MTV Raps 7. Sep - James Brown, while high on PCP, was involved in a high-speed chase with the police. He was eventually convicted of assaulting an officer and possession of an unlicensed firearm, among other charges. He spent three years in prison 8. Sep – Summer Olympics: Florence Joyner She is considered the fastest woman of all time, based on the world records she set in 1988 for both the 100 m and 200 m still stand. Jackie Joyner-Kersee long jump and heptathlon, Carl Lewis, Steve Lewis, and roger kingdom 9. Oct - Sega's two-year head start on Nintendo in the 16-bit gaming wars began on October 29, 1988, when the Sega Genesis launched 10. Nov - George Bush elected President 11. Dec - Mad Max Robinson dies 12. Dec - Roots: The Gift, the third installment of the Roots series is broadcast on ABC. 13. Open Comments: 14. Top Pop Songs 15. #1 - "Faith" - George Michael 16. #2 - Need You Tonight" - INXS 17. #3 - "Got My Mind Set on You" - George Harrison 18. Grammy Awards 19. Record of the Year: Bobby McFerrin for "Don't Worry, Be Happy" 20. Album of the Year: George Michael (producer & artist) for Faith 21. Song of the Year: Bobby McFerrin for "Don't Worry, Be Happy" 22. Best New Artist: Tracy Chapman 23. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female: Anita Baker for "Giving You the Best That I Got" 24. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male: Terence Trent D'Arby for Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'arby 25. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Gladys Knight & the Pips for "Love Overboard" 26. Best Rhythm & Blues Song: Anita Baker for "Giving You the Best That I Got" performed by Anita Baker 27. Best Rap Performance: "Parents Just Don't Understand" – DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. [The first award for Best Rap Performance was presented to DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince for "Parents Just Don't Understand". Jeff and Smith led a boycott in protest of the awards presentation not being televised, and some members of the rap community felt that more qualified artists were overlooked. 28. Top 3 Movies 29. #1 - Rain Man 30. #2 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit 31. #3 - Coming to America 32. Other Notables: Big, Twins, Crocodile Dundee II, Die Hard, The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!, Cocktail, Beetlejuice, Above the Law, Colors, A Fish Called Wanda, Young Guns, Tougher Than Leather, Child's Play, The Land Before Time, Tequila Sunrise, I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, and School Daze. 33. Top 3 TV Shows 34. #1 - The Cosby Show 35. #2 - Roseanne 36. #3 - A Different World 37. Economic Snapshots 38. New Home: 91,777 39. Avg Rent: 420 40. Avg. Income: 24,457 41. New Car: 10,432 42. Harvard: 12,015 43. Movie Ticket: 3.50 44. Gas: .91 45. Stamp: .25 46. Social Scene: Gangs and the movie Colors 47. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZvatzKVM2g 48. "Bulls": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJQAKDbq0hI 49. Stevin Levitt, Freakonomics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UGC2nLnaes 50. @9:35 - Summary: McDonalds vs Gang 51. Factors: Socio-political-economical, hyper masculinity and criminal justice/policing 52. Other ethnicities "evolved" out of their "street-gang" phases, but black- brown people are dealt with differently. 53. Open Comments: 54. Question: would more representation in the criminal justice system help – how to counter our internal factor? 55. Music Scene: 56. Top Black Singles 57. #6 - "So Emotional", Whitney Houston 58. #11 - "One More Try", George Michael 59. #12 - "Wishing Well", Terence Trent D'Arby 60. #15 - "Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car", Billy Ocean 61. #21, "Man in the Mirror", Michael Jackson 62. #27, "Father Figure", George Michael 63. #33 - "Where Do Broken Hearts Go", Whitney Houston 64. #36 - "The Way You Make Me Feel", Michael Jackson 65. #37 - "Don't Worry, Be Happy", Bobby McFerrin 66. Top Black Albums 67. Jan – Bad, Michael Jackson 68. Jan - Characters, Stevie Wonder 69. Feb - All Our Love, Gladys Knight & the Pips 70. Mar - Make It Last Forever, Keith Sweat 71. Apr - Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, Terence Trent D'Arby 72. May - Faith, George Michael 73. Jul - In Effect Mode, Al B. Sure! 74. Aug - Strictly Business, EPMD 75. Sep - Don't Be Cruel, Bobby Brown 76. Sep - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy 77. Oct - Don't Let Love Slip Away, Freddie Jackson 78. Nov - Giving You the Best That I Got, Anita Baker 79. Nov - Any Love, Luther Vandross 80. Vote: 81. Featured Artists: New jack swingers 82. Keith Sweat (@ 27 yrs. old): Known for his distinctive 'whining' vocal style, Sweat has established himself as one of the most successful male R&B/soul singers not only in America but also in other parts of the world. Born Keith Douglas Sweat, he was raised in Harlem and by the time he was 14 he had performed at various nightclubs in and around New York City. He graduated from the City College of New York with a BS degree in 'communications', after which he worked for a brief period as a successful brokerage assistant in a Wall Street firm. Despite a prosperous career at the Wall Street, he chose to pursue his passion for music and began writing songs and tried selling them to various record labels. In 1975, he began his career in music as a member of the Harlem based band called the 'Jamilah'. In 1984, he left 'Jamilah' in order to begin a solo career and subsequently sang at various nightclubs in New York. He was quickly noticed and given an opportunity to record an independent album for 'Stadium Records'. He recorded 'My Mind Is Made Up' for the 'Stadium Records' and he was also credited as the co-writer and co-producer of 'You Are the One for Me'. On November 25, 1987 his debut solo album 'Make It Last Forever' was released, which sold three million copies. The biggest hit from this album was the song that inaugurated the new jack swing era "I Want Her" 83. Bobby Brown (@ 19 yrs. old): Brown changed producers for this album and worked extensively with hit-making songwriting and production duo Babyface and L.A. Reid. Alex Henderson of AllMusic wrote: "Don't Be Cruel was to Bobby Brown what Control was to Janet Jackson – a tougher, more aggressive project that shed his "bubblegum" image altogether and brought him to a new artistic and commercial plateau. With "My Prerogative" and the title song, Brown became a leader of new jack swing" 84. Al B. Sure!(@ 20 yrs. old): During the late '80s, Al B. Sure! enjoyed a brief run as one of new jack swing's most popular romantic singers. Born Al Brown in Boston, he grew up in Mount Vernon, NY, listening to smooth crooners like Marvin Gaye and Johnny Mathis; he later became interested in rap and added that skill to his vocal repertoire. At age ten, he and a friend performed on a song written by Ellie Greenwich for the soundtrack of Sesame Street, and later he began writing songs with his cousin Kyle West. While in high school (where he quarterbacked the football team), he became friends with Edward Ferrell, aka DJ Eddie F, who was working with rapper Heavy D at the time. Eddie F introduced the still-teenaged Al B. Sure! to Heavy D's manager/Uptown label head Andre Harrell, who had him sing backing vocals on several Heavy D tracks and helped him get a deal with Warner Brothers. In 1987, Al was selected by Quincy Jones as the first winner of the Sony Innovators Talent Search. He collaborated with Jones on various projects, most notably the platinum single "The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)" from Jones' double-platinum-certified album Back on the Block. On this hit, he was one of a quartet with El DeBarge, Barry White, and James Ingram. His debut album of 1988 In Effect Mode topped the Billboard R&B chart for seven consecutive weeks, selling more than two million copies. 85. Open Comments: 86. Question: Al B. Said "There's a generation of women starving to be told I love you again" What happened?! Who is bringing it back? 87. Movie Scene: Coming to America 88. Trailer: 89. The Hollywood Reporter's original review: "Eddie Murphy's latest Coming to America is likely to leave the wreath-bearers, the frantic faithful, the crowd herders and the legions of line-waiters in numbed, disbelieving disappointment…Distressingly, the film flops into the blandest of sitcom formats, never realizing its regal potential...Coming to America is the filmic equivalent of using a Maserati to go to the corner grocery store…Yes, there are some crazy pieces crammed into America — Murphy and Hall in their multi-roles do a running black barbershop bit that is good and nuts — but this comedy is generally tame and sappy…The plot itself is pathetic…No getting around it, while the script completely misses as a social satire, the writers have botched the romance part of America as well…Rivaling the inept screenplay is John Landis' cornball direction, which includes a TV season's worth of reactive cutaways to an ugly poodle…On a production level, at least, Coming to America gets top marks. — Duane Byrge originally published on June 24, 1988. 90. Open Comments: 91. Question: Is this Eddie's best movie? Was Arsenio better than Eddie? Sequel or a remake? 92. Television Scene: A Different World 93. Theme song differences 94. Debbie Allen's influence 95. Why didn't any of them go onto stardom? - 96. Vote: Best/most important/favorite pop culture item from 1988?

Topics: Crack Epidemic, Michael Jackson - Bad, Hollywood Shuffle, Eyes on the Prize (Bonus Artist: Luck Pacheco) Snapshots 1. Ronald Reagan President – (Should have been impeached) 2. January 3. The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, became the very first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 4. March 5. U.S. President Ronald Reagan addresses the American people on the Iran-Contra Affair, acknowledging that his overtures to Iran had 'deteriorated' into an arms-for-hostages deal. 6. Jim Bakker, head of PTL Ministries, resigns after admitting an affair with church secretary Jessica Hahn. 7. April 8. Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of English rock band Queen, is diagnosed with AIDS. He dies four years later after making his diagnosis public. 9. Matt Groening's The Simpsons debuts as a series of short animated segments as part of The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox. 10. May 11. U.S. Senator Gary Hart drops out of the running for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, amid allegations of an extramarital affair with Donna Rice. 12. June 13. During a visit to Berlin, Germany, U.S. President Ronald Reagan challenges Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall. 14. Teddy Seymour is officially designated the first black man to sail around the world, when he completes his solo sailing circumnavigation in Frederiksted, St. Croix, of the United States Virgin Islands. 15. Edwards v. Aguillard: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that a Louisiana law requiring that creation science be taught in public schools whenever evolution is taught is unconstitutional. 16. July 17. Ronald Reagan nominates former Solicitor General Robert Bork to the Supreme Court. The nomination is later rejected by the Senate, the first and only nominee rejection to date. 18. October 19. Jesse Jackson launches his second campaign for U.S. President. 20. The United States is caught up in a drama that unfolds on television as a young child, Jessica McClure, falls down a well in Midland, Texas, and is later rescued. 21. December 22. Prozac makes its debut in the United States. 23. Open Comments 24. Black Snapshots 25. Mar - The first ever Soul Train Music Awards 26. Apr - Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Al Campanis makes racially insensitive comments when 27. asked about the scarcity of black field or general managers in MLB. Campanis, who had played alongside Robinson and was known for being close to him, was being interviewed about the subject on Nightline. Anchorman Ted Koppel asked him why, at the time, there had been few black managers and no black general managers in Major League Baseball. Campanis' reply was that blacks "may not have some of the necessities to be, let's say, a field manager, or, perhaps, a general manager" for these positions. Elsewhere in the interview, he said that blacks are often poor swimmers "because they don't have the buoyancy." Koppel says he gave Campanis several opportunities to clarify, ("Do you really believe that?") or back down from his remarks, but Campanis confirmed his views with his replies. Campanis was fired less than 48 hours later. 28. Literature – Rita Dove wins a Pulitzer for Thomas and Beulah and Toni Morrison publishes Beloved; it will win a Pulitzer and become a movie. Terri McMillan's first book, Mama, was published in 1987, later works include Disappearing Acts, Waiting To Exhale, and How Stella got Her Groove Back. James Baldwin, author of If Beale Street Could Talk, passed away. 29. John H. Johnson is named the first BE Entrepreneur of the Decade, having built Johnson Publishing Co. Inc., producers of Ebony, Jet, and Fashion Fair cosmetics into an international powerhouse. Born and raised in Arkansas, Johnson's family moved to Chicago when he was a teen. He excelled in school, received a scholarship to the University of Chicago, and began working at an insurance company. He got his start when his mother used her furniture as collateral for a $500 loan to start his first public

Topics: Chicago Bears, Janet Jackson, Anita Baker, She's Gotta Have It, 227-(TV Sitcom)(Bonus Artist: hidingtobefound)

General Snapshots 1. Ronald Reagan is President 2. Jan - The first federal Martin Luther King Jr. Day, honoring Martin Luther King Jr., is observed. 3. Jan - The first group of inductees to the Rock and Roll HOF, included Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and 3 other white performers. Also inducted were, James Brown*, Little Richard*, Fats Domino*, Ray Charles*, Chuck Berry*, Sam Cooke*, Robert Johnson*, and Jimmy Yancey*. 4. Jan - Super Bowl XX: The Chicago Bears defeat the New England Patriots 46–10 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. 5. Jan - Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates 73 seconds after launch, killing the crew of seven astronauts, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe (see Space Shuttle Challenger disaster). President Ronald Reagan postpones for one week the State of the Union address that had been scheduled for the evening and instead addresses the nation on the Challenger disaster. 6. Mar - Halley's Comet is a comet visible from Earth every 75–76 years. It last appeared in the inner parts of the Solar System in 1986 and will next appear in mid-2061. 7. Apr - The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults, hosted by Geraldo Rivera, is a two-hour live American television special. 8. Apr - In Ukraine, one of the reactors at the Chernobyl nuclear plant explodes, creating the world's worst nuclear disaster. 31 are killed directly by the incident, many more die from cancer in later years, many thousands more are exposed to significant amounts of radioactive material, and vast territories in Ukraine and Belarus are rendered uninhabitable. 9. May - Hands Across America: approximately 6.5 million people form a human chain from New York City to Long Beach, California, to raise money to fight hunger and homelessness. The event raised about $15 million. A total of 24 cities participated along the route, including: Champaign, Illinois (with Walter Payton), Chebanse, Illinois (A cornfield in central Illinois served as center-point of the nation with 16,000 people in attendance), Springfield, Illinois (with 50 Abraham Lincoln impersonators), and St. Louis, Missouri (with Kathleen Turner under the St. Louis Arch) 10. Aug - In Edmond, Oklahoma, United States Postal Service employee Patrick Sherrill guns down 14 of his co-workers before committing suicide. 11. Sep - Desmond Tutu becomes the first black Anglican Church bishop in South Africa's Cape Town, the most senior position in southern Africa's Anglican hierarchy. Theologically, he sought to fuse ideas from black theology with African theology; politically, he identifies as a socialist. 12. Nov - Iran–Contra affair: The United States has been selling weapons to Iran in secret, in order to secure the release of 7 American hostages held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon. Also, profits from the covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua. National Security Council member Oliver North and his secretary, Fawn Hall, start shredding documents implicating them. 13. Nov - Mike Tyson wins his first world boxing title by defeating Trevor Berbick in Las Vegas. Tyson won the title by TKO in the second round, and at the age of 20 years and 4 months became the youngest heavyweight champion in history. Tyson won his first 19 professional fights by knockout or stoppage, 12 of them in the first round. 14. Dec - Three African Americans are assaulted by a group of white teens in the Howard Beach neighborhood of Queens, New York. One of the victims, Michael Griffith, is run over and killed by a motorist while attempting to flee the attackers. 15. Open Comments: 16. Top 3 Pop Songs 17. 1 "That's What Friends Are For, Dionne and Friends 18. 2 "Say You, Say Me", Lionel Richie 19. 3 "I Miss You", Klymaxx 20. Grammy Award Winners 21. Record of the Year: "Higher Love", St

Topics: Air Jordans, Whitney Houston, Sade, The Color Purple, Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Phylicia Rashad (Bonus Artist: Luck Pacheco)

1985 Notes General Snapshots 1. President: Ronald Reagan 2. Jan – In Hollywood, California, the charity single "We Are the World" is recorded by USA for Africa. The single raises money to combat the ongoing famine in Ethiopia. The American act consists of high-profile performers, including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper and Diana Ross. 3. Jan – The newest music video channel, VH-1, begins broadcasting on American cable. It is aimed at an older demographic than its sister station, MTV. The first video played is Marvin Gaye's rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner". 4. Mar – WrestleMania debuts at Madison Square Garden. In the main event, Hulk Hogan and Mr. T defeated Paul Orndorff and Roddy Piper. The attendance for the event was 19,121. The event was seen by over one million viewers through closed-circuit television, making it the largest pay-per-view showing of a wrestling event on closed-circuit television in the United States at the time. 5. Apr – Coca-Cola changes its recipe and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months. 6. Aug - Ryan White who was expelled from Western High School in Indiana is allowed to attend his first day of classes via telephone. 7. Sep - The Farm Aid concert is held in Champaign, Illinois, USA. 8. Oct – The Nintendo Entertainment System is released in U.S. stores. By 1988, industry observers stated that the NES's popularity had grown so quickly that the market for Nintendo cartridges was larger than that for all home computer software. The NES was released two years after the North American video game crash of 1983, when many retailers and adult consumers regarded electronic games as a passing fad. With the NES, Nintendo also changed the relationship between console manufacturers and third-party software developers by restricting developers from publishing and distributing software without licensed approval. This led to higher-quality games, which helped change the attitude of a public that had grown weary from poorly produced games for earlier systems. 9. Nov - Microsoft Corporation releases the first version of Windows, Windows 1.0. 10. Open Comments: 11. Top 3 Pop Songs 12. 1 "Careless Whisper" Wham! 13. 2 "Like a Virgin" Madonna 14. 3 "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" Wham! 15. Grammy Awards 16. Record of the Year: Quincy Jones (producer) for "We Are the World" 17. Album of the Year: Phil Collins (producer & artist) for No Jacket Required 18. Song of the Year: Michael Jackson & Lionel Richie (songwriters) for "We Are the World" 19. Best New Artist: Sade 20. Top 3 Movies 21. Back to the Future 22. Rambo: First Blood Part II 23. Rocky IV 24. Other Notables: The Color Purple / Out of Africa / Cocoon / The Jewel of the Nile / Witness / The Goonies / Spies Like Us / The Breakfast Club / Brewster's Millions / St. Elmo's Fire / Krush Groove 25. Top 3 TV Shows 26. The Cosby Show 27. Family Ties 28. Murder, She Wrote 29. TV Debuts 30. Sep - What's Happening Now!! / Stir Crazy 31. Black Snapshots 32. Feb - Whitney Houston releases her debut album – Whitney Houston. 33. Mar – Mike Tyson makes his professional debut in Albany, New York, a match which he wins by a first-round knockout. 34. May - Michael Jordan is named as the NBA's "Rookie of the Year." 35. May – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mayor Wilson Goode, the first African American to hold that office, orders police to storm the headquarters of the black liberation/back-to-nature group MOVE to end a stand-off over serving arrest warrants. (Due process?!?!) The police drop 2 explosive devices into the headquarters, killing 6 adults and 5 children, and destroyed an additional 61 residental homes in the resulting fire. The survivors filed a civil suit against the city and the police department, and were awarded $1.5 million in 1996. 36. Jul - The final episode of The Jeffersons airs. (1975-) 10 yrs 37. Aug - Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1972-) 13 yrs 38. Nov - Ebony Man: EM Magazine launches 39. Best Comedy Recording: Whoopi Goldberg - Original Broadway Show Recording 40. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female: Aretha Franklin for "Freeway of Love" 41. Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male: Stevie Wonder for In Square Circle 42. Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal: Commodores for "Nightshift" 43. Economic Snapshot 44. Avg. Income = $22,138 45. House = $99,331 46. New Car = $9,531 47. Avg. Rent = $375 48. Tuition at Harvard = $9,800 49. Movie Ticket = $2.75 50. Gas = $1.20 51. Stamp = $0.22 52. Socilal Scene: "Money, it's gotta be da shoes!" - Mars Blackmon 53. The Air Jordan I was originally released in 1985 and is almost single-handedly responsible for modern-day sneaker culture. Michael Jordan originally wanted to sign with either Converse or Adidas. But Converse declined and according to a Wall Street Journal article published in 2015 so did Adidas. Still MJ was not convinced. Only when Nike, thinking they had nothing to loose, offered to give MJ his own shoe- and clothing line did he change his mind. This was unheard of at the time, no NBA player had an entire product line named after them. As the first basketball player with his own signature shoes Jordan would immediately become the king of basketball sneaker advertising. Just to be on the safe side Nike worked an out-clause into the contract: if Air Jordans didn't earn Nike $3 million in the first 3 years, or if Jordan didn't make the NBA All-Star Game in his first three years, Nike could dump him. Jordan was voted into the All-Star Game as a Rookie starter and the "Air Jordan 1" shoe made Nike $130 million in 1985 alone. The rest is history. 54. Open Comments: 55. The pushback and common critisisms 56. Extremely superficial materialism is one of the only ways that many black Americans express a sense of self worth. 57. When you live in a society where nobody has a savings account, or a college degree, or has traveled abroad, having a fresh pair of sneakers and a gold chain shouldn't be your version of keeping up with the Joneses. 58. Liking shoes is as much of a "black thing" as liking chicken is a "black thing". Everyone likes both of these things. 59. Open Comments: 60. It became popular in the late 80s for people with moderate or low incomes to wear clothing adorned with the names and logos of luxury, high-end brands. Then all the luxury brands started making their own low-end, logo-covered versions. You wear your favorite sports team to affiliate yourself with them. It's the same thing with Tommy Hilfiger, Gucci, Jordache, Guess, Wrangler, Levi, Gitano, Bonjour, Sasson, etc., it's a way of signalling. 61. Question: We went from tailored suits and dresses to baggy jeans and yoga pants. From afro's and braids to fashioned bandanas and bleached blondes. From the stylish Supremes and Tempations to tatooed faces and pireced everytginhg. - What do you think is at the root of our decisions? Are we victims of advertising? 62. Music Scene 63. Black Songs from the Top 40 (No Lionel Richie showed up!) 64. 5 "I Feel for You" Chaka Khan 65. 6 "Out of Touch" Hall & Oates 66. 12 "Easy Lover" Philip Bailey and Phil Collins 67. 17 "Cherish" Kool & the Gang 68. 20 "We Are the World" USA for Africa 69. 22 "Part-Time Lover" Stevie Wonder 70. 23 "Saving All My Love For You" Whitney Houston 71. 26 "Cool It Now" New Edition 72. 28 "Loverboy" Billy Ocean 73. 29 "Lovergirl" Teena Marie 74. 31 "Oh Sheila" Ready for the World 75. 32 "Rhythm of the Night" DeBarge 76. 38 "Neutron Dance" The Pointer Sisters 77. 40 "Nightshift" Commodores 78. Vote: 79. Top RnB Singles 80. Jan - "Operator" Midnight Star 81. Jan - "Gotta Get You Home Tonight" Eugene Wilde 82. Feb - "Mr. Telephone Man" New Edition 83. Feb - "Missing You" Diana Ross 84. Mar - "Nightshift" The Commodores 85. Apr - "Back In Stride" Maze featuring Frankie Beverly 86. Apr - "Rhythm Of the Night" DeBarge 87. May - "We Are the World" USA for Africa 88. May - "Fresh" Kool & the Gang 89. May - "You Give Good Love" Whitney Houston 90. Jun - "Rock Me Tonight (For Old Times Sake)" Freddie Jackson 91. Jul - "Hangin' on a String (Contemplating)" Loose Ends 92. Jul - "Save Your Love (For #1)" René & Angela 93. Aug - "Freeway of Love" Aretha Franklin 94. Sep - "Saving All My Love for You" Whitney Houston 95. Sep - "Cherish" Kool & the Gang 96. Sep - "Oh Sheila" Ready For the World 97. Oct - "You Are My Lady" Freddie Jackson 98. Oct - "Part-Time Lover" Stevie Wonder 99. Nov - "Caravan of Love" Isley-Jasper-Isley 100. Dec - "Don't Say No Tonight" Eugene Wilde 101. Vote: 102. Top RnB Albums 103. Jan - New Edition New Edition 104. Feb - Solid Ashford & Simpson 105. Mar - Gap Band VI The Gap Band 106. Mar p- Private Dancer Tina Turner 107. Apr - Nightshift The Commodores 108. Apr - Can't Stop the Love Frankie Beverly and Maze 109. May - The Night I Fell in Love Luther Vandross 110. Jun - Whitney Houston Whitney Houston 111. Jun - Rock Me Tonight Freddie Jackson 112. Nov - In Square Circle Stevie Wonder 113. Vote 114. Featured Artists: Whitney Houston and Sade 115. Whitney Elizabeth Houston, @22 yrs old: Singer, actress, model, and producer, Whitney Houston is one of the world's most successful female entertainers of all time. 116. Born and raised in Newark NJ, she is the daughter of Grammy-award-winning gospel singer, Emily "Cissy" Houston and John R. Houston, who managed his daughter's production company. 117. Childhood & Early Life 118. She was no stranger to the entertainment industry, having come from a line of singers and actresses. Not only did her mother's vocal group, the 'Sweet Inspirations', sing backup for Aretha Franklin, but her cousins Dionne and Dee Dee Warwick are also renowned singers, as well as her godmother, Darlene Love. She began performing in her church's gospel choir as a soloist at the age of eleven and learned to play the piano. While attending Catholic school, she took voice lessons from her mother, with whom she would occasionally perform in nightclubs. 119. Career 120. In 1977 (@ 14 yrs old), she was a backup singer for Michael Zager Band's single 'Life's a Party' and the following year she sang on Chaka Khan's single 'I'm Every Woman'. She was offered an opportunity to sign with a recording company, but her mother declined so she would finish high school. In the early 1980s, (@17 yrs old), she worked as a model, appearing in several magazines including, 'Seventeen', where she became the first African American to be featured on the cover. She also took on acting gigs appearing in TV show episodes such as, 'Gimme a Break', while continuing to develop her vocal skills. In 1983,(@ 20yrs old) she was signed with 'Arista Records'. President Clive Davis spent the next couple years assembling lyricists and producers to balance her gospel-like sound with contemporary melodies. In 1985, her debut album, 'Whitney Houston' gradually became the number one selling album of her career. She went on to win two Emmy Awards, six Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards. 121. Open Comments: 122. A Hot Mess 123. On February 11th, 2012, Whitney Houston (@ 48 yrs old) was found facedown in a bathtub. Weeks later, an autopsy report would contribute Houston's death to accidental drowning, heart disease and cocaine use. There were additional traces of a muscle relaxant, Xanax, marijuana and an allergy medication in the singer's system. 124. The sad, secret life of Whitney Houston: From a secret lesbian relationship to a decades-long struggle with drugs, five years after singer's death, a new film 'Whitney: Can I Be Me' examines what caused her tragic downfall - Tara Brady [Jun 12, 2017] https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/the-sad-secret-life-of-whitney-houston-1.3105861 125. Selected quotes from the article: 126. What exactly killed Houston? Why did she drown? How did she drown? Was she simply overwhelmed by the controlling demands of her formidable mother, Cissy Houston, Svengali Clive Davis, and her record company, Arista? Did the aftermath of her toxic and co-dependent marriage to Bobby Brown send her spiralling? Or was it the dissolution of her decades-old lesbian relationship with her assistant Robyn Crawford? It's complicated, as documentarian Nick Broomfield discovered. "In the end I think the divide between who she was and what her public persona was became more and more difficult," says documentarian Nick Broomfield. "And she just went down, 127. The imploding relations between Houston, Bobby Brown and Robyn Crawford. Brown told Us Weekly magazine that Houston was bisexual and that she once had an affair with Tupac Shakur. He went on to say that Houston kept her relationship with Crawford hidden because of Cissy. "I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney's life, Whitney would still be alive today," Brown told the magazine. "She didn't have close friends with her anymore." 128. From Cissy's notorious 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey: "Would it have bothered you if your daughter was gay?" "Absolutely," Cissy snapped back. "You wouldn't have condoned it?" continued an incredulous Oprah. "Not at all." ..."I didn't particularly like [Crawford]," Cissy told the talk show queen. "She just spoke too much, disrespectful sometimes, like she had something over Nippy (Houston's nickname), and I didn't like that at all. She was all right, she turned out to be all right, I guess. That was her friend." 129. Houston and Crawford first bonded while they were teenagers working at a community centre in East Orange, New Jersey. When Houston's modelling career began to take off, she'd face bullying in school, and Crawford, who was originally a friend of Houston's older brothers Michael and Gary, would frequently come to the rescue. When Houston moved out of her family home, she shared her first apartment with Crawford. Deep into Houston and Brown's 14-year marriage, Crawford remained a fixture in Houston's domestic arrangements. 130. Houston's marriage to Brown, understandably, made for an uneasy romantic trinity. In Derrick Handspike's unauthorised 2008 biography, Bobby Brown: The Truth, The Whole Truth and Nothing But . . ., the author quotes Brown as saying: "Now I realise Whitney had a different agenda than I did when we got married. I believe her agenda was to clean up her image while mine was to be loved and have children. "Whitney felt she had to make rumours of a lesbian affair go away. Since she was the American Sweetheart and all, that didn't go too well with her image. In Whitney's situation the only solution was to get married and have kids. That would kill all speculation whether it was true or not." 131. Superma