Day: January 24, 2023

A grown-up genre: Hip hop turns 50

At first, hip hop was considered a passing fancy.
It was free and fun and outdoors. It was what New York needed in the 1070s.
And then it became much more, “Hip hop is entering its so-called 50th-year anniversary … Its history and story is very deep,” said Chuck D (shown here), the Public Enemy rapper.
He linked with PBS and the BBC to produce “Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World.” It debuts at 9 p.m. Tuesday (Jan. 31) on PBS, skips a week because of the State of the Union speech, then has one hour on Feb. 14 and two on Feb. 21. Read more…

Best-bets for Jan. 26: Lyonne leads a big streamer stretch

1) “Poker Face” debut, Peacock. Rian Johnson, writer-director of the “Knives Out” gems, links with Natasha Lyonne for a superb series. She’s terrific as Charlie, with an innate sense of when people are lying. In the opener (shown here), she’s living in a Las Vegas trailer, when casino boss (Adrien Brody) tries to harness that skill; she’s soon on the run, solving self-contained mysteries slong the way. Except for one flaw – scenes that flash back a few days, without telling viewers – this is a fresh and entertaining show. Read more…