And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

Sheba Baby, 1975

I had to kick off Women’s History Month with a flick featuring the most baadassss woman in blaxploitation, Miss Pam Grier.

After starring a series of violent racy films like Coffy and Foxy Brown, Pam Grier returned in this more toned down flick. Grier plays Chicago P.I. Sheba Shayne, who returns to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky to save her father’s loan business from ruthless gangsters.

And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

Fred Williamson was one of the major stars of Black action films in the 70s. He was trained as an architect but ended up playing professional football after graduating from Northwestern University. He played in the first Super Bowl for the Kansas City Chiefs.

And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

1987

Hollywood Shuffle is the anti-Blaxploitation film. The Blaxploitation genre had a tremendous impact on culture, but in trying to break stereotypes and diversify the images of Black people in film, the films still were very stereotypical. Hollywood Shuffle is a satiric look at African American actors in Hollywood. It’s the story of an actor limited to stereotypical roles (ie pimp, hustler, slave, mandingo, etc) because of his ethnicity, who dreams of making it big as an esteemed actor.

With it being *shudders* Black History Month, Starr takes the time out to dedicate a post to one of the GOATs. And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

As influential as Curtis Mayfield still is today, he never enjoyed the same success in the 60s and 70s as his Motown counterparts. Luckily for him, he wasn’t just a singer, but also a an excellent guitarist and songwriter who penned hits for the likes if Gladys Knight and the Pips, The Staple Singers and Aretha Franklin. He had a hand in shaping the sound of three Blaxploitation soundtracks including Superfly, Sparkle, and Claudine.

With it being *shudders* Black History Month, Starr takes the time out to dedicate a post to one of the GOATs. And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

It’s Black History Month so I decided to be cliche and jump off the icons edition of Blaxploitation Friday. Today’s solute goes to Gordon Parks–photographer, journalist, author, director, visionary.

* dies from laughter *

What the hell were we thinking when we came up with this, people? And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

I’m kind of on my lazy game today. I’m still sort of in food coma but it dawned on me that when I did my blaxploitation horror series, I left out one flick that I specifically meant to include. It’s actually one of my favorites (*hides face in shame at B-Movie addiction*).

This is actually one of my favorite ever. I mean, just look at the poster’s tagline and tell me you wasn’t in for some grade-a fuckery. And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

Even though the blaxploitation genre was primarily a 70s thing, there were some flicks that slipped through the cracks and made it to the later years. So, in the spirit of all re-makes, I bring you…

I somehow forgot to toss this up last night. Oops. Especially when she did something on one of the GOAT of women? Sheeeit. And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

And two weeks later, I’m still on my Halloween high. The women from this genre inspired my costume (which I’m still too lazy to post) so I had to bring you another heroine.

Alongside movies, blaxploitation also hit the television as well. Here is one such breakthrough. And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

TV Series (1974-1975)

Get Christie Love was a groundbreaking TV series starring Teresa Graves as a fearless police woman, airing on ABC. It was groundbreaking for obvious reasons. This was the first time an African American woman was the sole star of a TV series and it was the only successful TV series spawned by the blaxploitation genre. Teresa Graves was originally a part of the cast of the comedy sketch series, Laugh-In (pre-SNL) but amid skepticism, made a wonderful transition from comedy to drama. The widely popular, 60 minute show ran for a year. Graves was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best TV Actress in a Drama (1975) and won a TP de Oro (Spain 1977) award for Best Foreign Actress.

With Halloween about to jump off tonight, Starr dedicates this Blaxploitation to one of the more popular rehases of all time. And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

I was doing the “Blaxploitation Horror Edition” until I broke when Rudy Ray Moore aka DOLEMITE passed away. So, since I deviated and it’s Halloween, I’m going to close out the horror series with a double feature (there are more horror blaxploitation flicks but I’m ending the consecutive series).

CONTINUE READING

In case you didn’t know, we lost another  influential comedian in Dolemite himself, so Starr is giving him a proper send off. And as always,  And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

(1975)

I’m taking a brief break from “Malik 16 Week” and the “Blaxploitation Friday” horror edition to feature Dolemite, in honor of stand up comedy legend Rudy Ray Moore, who died on Oct 17 due to complications from diabetes. Rest in peace.

In the middle of Halloween Month, Starr looks to an urban remake of a classic tale. And as always, if you’re digging this, hit up Gangstarr Girl for a fresh take on hip-hop, politics, fashion and other worldly and wordy things through the eyes of a New York-helmed around-the-way girl. Without further adeiu…

Synopsis:
Bernie Casey (formerly of the L.A. Rams) stars as Dr. Henry Pride, a prominent physician who partakes in an experimental formula for the treatment of liver disease — which turns out to be a close chemical cousin to Dr. Jeykll’s notorious concoction. The drug transforms Pride into a homicidal predator who goes out on murderous nocturnal rampages. Similar to other movies in its class, it adopts low-budget action style until the King Kong-derived climax.