WEB EXCLUSIVE Ray Charles. Aretha Franklin. Donny Hathaway. Lil’ Kim. Curtis Mayfield. Any of these names ring a bell? For Black History Month, record label Rhino Records is celebrating the undeniable impact of Black musicians throughout history (including the ones listed above) with a special series of high-profile vinyl reissues, first-ever digital releases, initiatives, activations and collaborations. Get ready to stock your record collection!
“These legendary Black artists created the soundtrack to cultural, social and political revolutions when the world needed it,” Rhino Entertainment says. “They’re undeniably as necessary as ever in 2021 as they continue to amplify messages of truth, hope and change on tape.”
Rhino is working with Black-owned independent record stores throughout the U.S. to distribute these releases—as well as prints of alternative covers created by an artist of color—every Friday throughout the month of February. The prints come as a gift with the purchase of each of the nine vinyls included in the campaign.
In Raleigh, the physical releases will be available each Friday of the month at Lookout Music & Media, an “urban music store” that opened in 2003. The celebration kicked off Feb. 5 with the release of Donny Hathaway’s A Donny Hathaway Collection, The Jungle Brothers Done by the Forces of Nature (Deluxe Edition), and George Benson’s Breezin’.
“Hathaway immortally urged, ‘And when my life is over, remember when we were together,’ says Rhino Entertainment. “And this month offers us a chance to come together once again in celebration.”
This Friday, Feb. 19, Rhino will release Aretha Franklin’s Young, Gifted and Black and Sheila E’s …The Glamorous Life. Head to Lookout Music & Media to get your hands on them locally (several albums that are part of the series will be available digitally as well)—and let the music live on in the comfort and safety of our homes. Any and all eccentric dance moves welcome.
WEB EXCLUSIVE Like in any community, food is an extremely significant part of African American culture. But while soul food may be the one thing that comes to mind, there’s way more to Black cuisine than just that (though soul food is certainly an important aspect of Black heritage), and chef-owner Ricky Moore of Saltbox Seafood Joint proves it.
In honor of African Heritage Month, Moore will be featuring a special dish that originated and was influenced by Black culture every Wednesday in February—specifically foods that speak to the global African influence on food culture in the Americas and not just the United States.
Saltbox Seafood Joint chef-owner Ricky Moore
“I chose dishes that I’ve eaten in the regions where they originated and experienced them prepared by someone’s native hands and that I’ve also made myself,” Moore says. “I’ve chosen seafood dishes specifically—Saltbox Seafood Joint celebrates the fish and seafood of the North Carolina coast, so I wanted to stay within those boundaries.”
The dinner series allows Moore to preserve these dishes that are so important and meaningful to him while educating the community on Black cuisine and introducing them to delicious cuisine throughout the month.
Yesterday, Moore’s featured dish was fried catfish and spaghetti, an unlikely soul food combination that originated in the Mississippi Delta and is now mostly predominant in the Deep South and Midwest.
Moore discovered the dish while he was living in Chicago; his take involves flavoring the spaghetti with similar ingredients to those found in dirty rice, using the “holy trinity” aromatic base of onion, green pepper and celery. Moore also notes that, traditionally, the spaghetti is overcooked, but his is cooked properly—of course.
Moore’s fried catfish and spaghetti
On Feb. 10, Moore will feature bake and shark, a popular Trinidadian pocket sandwich commonly found at beach shacks and street stalls. Moore’s will be stuffed with local North Carolina smooth dog shark or dogfish, lettuce, tomato, slices of starred pineapple, a spicy cilantro cilantro sauce and tangy tamarind.
Haitian legumes and shellfish, a stew-like dish made with braised vegetables and shellfish, will be available on Feb. 17. Moore will incorporate a variety of local seafood into the dish, including crab, local clams, whitefish bones, shrimp and other local fish, and serve it on Tidewater Grain rice, an heirloom Carolina gold rice that’s produced in Eastern North Carolina
Lastly, on Feb. 24, Moqueca Baiana, an aromatic Brazilian fish stew, takes center stage. The dish is influenced by cooking habits of the African culture in Brazil and is made flavorful with garlic, tomatoes, cilantro, onions, salt, olive oil, dendê oil (an ingredient indigenous to Africa that’s commonly used for frying and imparting a dark dark reddish color to dishes) and rich coconut.
With the announcement of each featured dish, Moore will share additional details about the history behind them on Saltbox’s social media channels (@saltboxseafoodjoint). We hope you’re hungry for some seafood this month!
