Lamont Pearley 9/22/26 Lamont Pearley 9/22/26

~ Rearview Mirrors ~

Some of the hardest battles you'll ever fight are the ones no one will ever see. There is a strange kind of pain in carrying a smile while something inside you is quietly falling apart. Yet somehow, you keep showing up. That isn't weakness; that's resilience.

Lamont Pearley 9/22/26 Lamont Pearley 9/22/26

Bob and B: One Song, Two Legacies

In 1996, Robert Lockwood Jr. stepped into the recording studio to record what would later be his Grammy nominated album, “I Got to Find Me a Woman”. Backing him were members of the legendary Robert Lockwood Jr. All-Stars and special guests, B.B. King and Joe Louis Walker.

Lamont Pearley 5/12/26 Lamont Pearley 5/12/26

Who will save the sinner?

After watching Sinners for the first time, I left the theater awestruck by the spectacle of the story. The movie’s unapologetic soul was the root of an aesthetic embedded in the black experience and sustained by the harrowing narrative.

Lamont Pearley 4/28/26 Lamont Pearley 4/28/26

Paths~

I'm sitting here thinking about some of the people that have been placed into my life, and I'm truly blessed to have met several of them!

Lamont Pearley 3/23/26 Lamont Pearley 3/23/26

If The SHoe Fits

They talk about good intentions—where?
All I see are their hands, their eyes, their whispers,
and it tells a different story.

Lamont Pearley 10/9/25 Lamont Pearley 10/9/25

Boots On The Ground: The Viral Black Line Dance Movement Seen & Heard ‘Round The World

On December 20, 2024, Black America got an early holiday gift with the release of viral hit, “Boots on the Ground.” The trail-ride inspired song was the brainchild of 803Fresh, a South Carolina native and Southern soul singer who grows on me by the day.

Lamont Pearley 10/3/25 Lamont Pearley 10/3/25

What Did We Do?

Image by: Unseen Histories
Poem By: D. Parker

What Did We Do?

I can’t help but ask,
what did we do
to make them hate us so much?

Lamont Pearley 8/7/25 Lamont Pearley 8/7/25

A Review of Ryan Coogler’s SINNERS

I’ve been thinking a lot about that film. It’s the first film that I’ve watched at least three times. I have my criticisms of it, but I also think that it is a masterpiece. When we compare that movie with anything produced anywhere in the world, it is an artistic masterpiece aesthetically. It is overflowing with symbolism from the “jump.” Everything from the opening scene with “Lil’ Sammy” and the introduction of the “Smokestack” twins is overflowing with rich historical and humanistic themes.

Lamont Pearley 7/20/25 Lamont Pearley 7/20/25

Pandemic Protests Collection By Larry Handy

The first protest I attended in 2020 here in Los Angeles took place on May 30th at Mariachi Plaza slightly east of downtown in the Boyle Heights district. LA which has a predominately Latino population showed up for George Floyd as did the rest of America

Lamont Pearley 6/18/25 Lamont Pearley 6/18/25

SPACED COWBOY: A REFLECTION ON SLY STONE

On Friday, June 6th, 2025, three days before Sly Stone joined the Ancestors, I received in the post a lost album by his band, Sly & the Family Stone, called The First Family: Live At Winchester Cathedral 1967 (High Moon Records). When I was giddy to get a press release last week announcing this project, there was no sense that Sly would soon be leaving this earthly plane, and his loss is a shock, especially amidst Black Music Month. So this earliest live recording of him and his hyper-legendary group that
transformed soul, pop, funk, rock, gospel & psychedelia is most welcome.

Lamont Pearley 5/19/25 Lamont Pearley 5/19/25

Black American-Run Country Music Associations Needed to Make a Comeback—Here’s Why

On the heels of Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” release, Black country artists had their mainstream moment amongst the genre’s fans. It was long overdue since it was us who helped create and pioneer country music, though racist industry politics have blocked most of our artists from shining in the big leagues.