Reel Harlem...

Just finished writing a long essay on the making of the Curtis Mayfield's celebrated Superfly soundtrack for Wax Poetics Issue 38. Featuring interviews with composer Curtis Mayfield, arranger Johnny Pate, guitarists Phil Upchurch, Craig McCullen, Jean Paul Bourelly, actor/director Fred Williamson and writers Barry Michael Cooper and Darius James, the tentatively titled "Gangster Boogie: Curtis Mayfield and the Makings of Superfly," delves deep into the ruins of '70s Harlem as the perfect backdrop for blaxploitation dreams and the fueling the soulful genius of a man called Mayfield.

From the streets of Sugarhill to the studios of Chicago, this dynamite story has a plan to stick it to the man. Seriously though, when we get closer to the release date I'll write a little more about the behind scenes chaos, drama and talent that went into creating this enduring album.

Yet, I will admit since listening to the Superfly soundtrack about five hundred times while writing this explosive story (cue wah-wah), I really don't need to hear it again for a year or two. For now, let me just do a visual homage to a few of the Harlem flicks that helped shape my own urban outlaw aesthetic. As my homeboy Richard Pryor used to say, "You messin' with the kid baby...shieeeeeeeeeeeet!"

WaxPoetics: http://www.waxpoetics.com/magazine