Johnnie Hobbs's guest appearances

Johnnie Hobbs

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Back in America

For The Love Of Dance

Seamus Heaney

Elijah Cummings

Chris Davis

Matt Besser

Justin Hopkins

Quincy Jones

Darrell Thorp

Joe Corcoran

Seth Shostak

Mike Dorsey

John Michael Greer

Joe Nicchi

Victoria Namkung

Christopher Wray

Christine Gordon

OwlTail

Amiri Baraka

She listen to a little of that D’Angelo music, some love’s melody, sophisticated-type rap, which she say sounds more like real music, like intelligent music, than some of that other music, then she cuts the radio off ––Gayl Jones, The Healing   Like the narrator in Gayl Jones’ The Healing, this week’s installment of Poetism focuses on and around “black music,” that is music which conveys a specific feeling of a sensation or time without explaining anything. For me, it’s like being a child at an adult’s card table; no one tells you how the game works, you have to learn by being attentive and tuning into the tricks at hand. But the joy is in the puzzle, almost as much as in the rules of the game.   When his producer tried to market his serpentine music as “neo-soul,” D’Angelo rejected that moniker for the more expressive and expansive “black music.” There’s history and respect in his 2014 collaboration with the Vanguard, “Black Messiah,” but also affection, nostalgia, and rage. In scholar D’Angelo’s own words, “it’s all about capturing the spirit. It’s all about capturing the vibe. I’m kinda a first take dude.”    To tackle such questions of lineage and history, actor and tap dance instructor Johnnie Hobbs joins me in this week’s episode. Our conversation starts with Johnnie’s own background and love for films––especially the rare period piece that displays the mundane. As Sumana Roy and Xander Manshel have noted, it’s rare for art made by people of color about the everyday to be accepted by mainstream culture. The vast majority of literary awards given to writers of color are for historical novels which focus on their ethnic identities. To be taught within the university, Indian novels need to be about what it means to be a postcolonial subject;––it’s uncommon to see a novel about one’s dreams of becoming a famous poet, midnight walks, and family fights.   And Johnnie has developed his own test to see whether a historical film can do more than just showcase violence against Black bodies. In the final minutes of the podcast, we turn towards Amiri Baraka’s “Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note” (1961) to unpack it’s own relationship to Black suffering and its future(s).   Stay tuned for next week’s episode on bubblegum pop and Old English verse in Jos Charles’ feeld (2018) and SOPHIE’s “Immaterial” (2018)––guided by anesthetic wizard Gabriel Ellis, who you might remember from his cameo in last week’s installment.

She listen to a little of that D’Angelo music, some love’s melody, sophisticated-type rap, which she say sounds more like real music, like intelligent music, than some of that other music, then she cuts the radio off ––Gayl Jones, The Healing Like the narrator in Gayl Jones’ The Healing, this week’s installment of Poetism focuses on and around “black music,” that is music which conveys a specific feeling of a sensation or time without explaining anything. For me, it’s like being a child at an adult’s card table; no one tells you how the game works, you have to learn by being attentive and tuning into the tricks at hand. But the joy is in the puzzle, almost as much as in the rules of the game. When his producer tried to market his serpentine music as “neo-soul,” D’Angelo rejected that moniker for the more expressive and expansive “black music.” There’s history and respect in his 2014 collaboration with the Vanguard, “Black Messiah,” but also affection, nostalgia, and rage. In scholar D’Angelo’s own words, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WD1oaBCmZWA" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">“it’s all about capturing the spirit. It’s all about capturing the vibe. I’m kinda a first take dude.” </a> To tackle such questions of lineage and history, actor and tap dance instructor Johnnie Hobbs joins me in this week’s episode. Our conversation starts with Johnnie’s own background and love for films––especially the rare period piece that displays the mundane. As <a href="https://thepointmag.com/criticism/beyond-the-guilt-tax/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sumana Roy</a> and Xander Manshel have noted, it’s rare for art made by people of color about the everyday to be accepted by mainstream culture. The <a href="https://post45.org/2017/09/the-rise-of-the-recent-historical-novel/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">vast majority</a> of literary awards given to writers of color are for historical novels which focus on their ethnic identities. To be taught within the university, Indian novels need to be about what it means to be a postcolonial subject;––it’s uncommon to see <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/07/odysseus-abroad-amit-chaudhuri-review-audaciously-redraws-modernist-map" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a novel about</a> one’s dreams of becoming a famous poet, midnight walks, and family fights. And Johnnie has developed his own <a href="https://www.iamjohnniehobbs.com/entries/hobbstest" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">test</a> to see whether a historical film can do more than just showcase violence against Black bodies. In the final minutes of the podcast, we turn towards Amiri Baraka’s “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/58013/preface-to-a-twenty-volume-suicide-note" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note</a>” (1961) to unpack it’s own relationship to Black suffering and its future(s). Stay tuned for next week’s episode on bubblegum pop and Old English verse in Jos Charles’ <a href="https://milkweed.org/book/feeld" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">feeld</a> (2018) and SOPHIE’s “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv3yIv9nwf8" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Immaterial</a>” (2018)––guided by anesthetic wizard Gabriel Ellis, who you might remember from his cameo in last week’s installment.

Poetism 3: Can You Feel It? Johnnie Hobbs on  D’Angelo and Amiri Baraka

This week Kim McVicar chats with Johnnie Hobbs! Johnnie Hobbs III is a tap dancer, film director, teacher, and performer. He’s worked with such theatre companies as The New Freedom Theatre, Adren Theatre Company, Interact Theatre and Matrix Theatre. A 2004 graduate of Philadelphia’s The University of the Arts. His talent of tap dancing was showcased at “ Showtime at The Apollo”, the Inauguration Events in Washington D.C for President Barack Obama, and more. Find him at www.iamjohnniehobbs.com

This week Kim McVicar chats with Johnnie Hobbs! Johnnie Hobbs III is a tap dancer, film director, teacher, and performer. He’s worked with such theatre companies as The New Freedom Theatre, Adren Theatre Company, Interact Theatre and Matrix Theatre. A 2004 graduate of Philadelphia’s The University of the Arts. His talent of tap dancing was showcased at “ Showtime at The Apollo”, the Inauguration Events in Washington D.C for President Barack Obama, and more. Find him at <a href="http://www.iamjohnniehobbs.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.iamjohnniehobbs.com</a>

Meet Thurgood Marshall: Lawyer. Civil Rights Activist. The first African American Supreme Court Justice. In the acclaimed Broadway play Thurgood, you have a seat at a fictional lecture on his life given by Marshall at his alma mater, and experience his transformation from a young and spirited dissenter to a pensive Justice full of wisdom. From his early days as the civil rights lawyer to his appointment to the highest court in the land, Thurgood Marshall stood for justice while lifting the standing of his race, and all Americans. 

Meet Thurgood Marshall: Lawyer. Civil Rights Activist. The first African American Supreme Court Justice. In the acclaimed Broadway play Thurgood, you have a seat at a fictional lecture on his life given by Marshall at his alma mater, and experience his transformation from a young and spirited dissenter to a pensive Justice full of wisdom. From his early days as the civil rights lawyer to his appointment to the highest court in the land, Thurgood Marshall stood for justice while lifting the standing of his race, and all Americans.

RR_S10E16_THURGOOD - Johnnie Hobbs, JR.

Johnnie Hobbs III is a tap dancer, film director, teacher, performer and coloring book collector. He’s worked with such theatre companies as The New Freedom Theatre, Adren Theatre Company, Interact Theatre and Matrix Theatre. A 2004 graduate of Philadelphia’s The University of the Arts, Johnnie moved to L.A. to follow his passion for film and television. His talent of tap dancing was showcased on &amp;"Showtime at The Apollo”, the Inauguration Events in Washington D.C for President Barack Obama and The Guatemala Dance Challenge in Guatemala. He’s first directorial effort was in 2012 with a tap dancing short film drama called &amp;"NOSTALGIA” starring Dule Hill (The West Wing, Psych) and tap dancers Sarah Reich, Jason Samuels Smith and Chloe Arnold. The film went on to be accepted to film festivals around the country. He’s directed four other short films since then. Johnnie’s been a guest speaker at University of Colorado, Temple University, Santa Monica College, and Art Institute to name a few. Relativity School, a new college in Downtown Los Angeles, has recently named him Adjunct Professor of tap dance for the Commercial Dance Department. He has worked on segments TV shows &amp;" America Now,” &amp;"The Amazing Race,” and was an acting coach on a Showtime TV pilot while also assisting film producer Edward Saxon (Philadelphia, Silence of The Lambs). Johnnie really likes chocolate milkshakes.Link:vimeo.com/200775897 youtu.be/sB4K2ulX1Xw

Johnnie Hobbs III is a tap dancer, film director, teacher, performer and coloring book collector. He’s worked with such theatre companies as The New Freedom Theatre, Adren Theatre Company, Interact Theatre and Matrix Theatre. A 2004 graduate of Philadelphia’s The University of the Arts, Johnnie moved to L.A. to follow his passion for film and television. His talent of tap dancing was showcased on &amp;"Showtime at The Apollo”, the Inauguration Events in Washington D.C for President Barack Obama and The Guatemala Dance Challenge in Guatemala. He’s first directorial effort was in 2012 with a tap dancing short film drama called &amp;"NOSTALGIA” starring Dule Hill (The West Wing, Psych) and tap dancers Sarah Reich, Jason Samuels Smith and Chloe Arnold. The film went on to be accepted to film festivals around the country. He’s directed four other short films since then. Johnnie’s been a guest speaker at University of Colorado, Temple University, Santa Monica College, and Art Institute to name a few. Relativity School, a new college in Downtown Los Angeles, has recently named him Adjunct Professor of tap dance for the Commercial Dance Department. He has worked on segments TV shows &amp;" America Now,” &amp;"The Amazing Race,” and was an acting coach on a Showtime TV pilot while also assisting film producer Edward Saxon (Philadelphia, Silence of The Lambs). Johnnie really likes chocolate milkshakes. Link: <a href="http://vimeo.com/200775897" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">vimeo.com/200775897</a> <a href="http://youtu.be/sB4K2ulX1Xw" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">youtu.be/sB4K2ulX1Xw</a>