the best of what I watched, read and listened to this year
Capping off another weird year with a list of the film, music, and books that provided healthy disassociation from it all. In no particular order:
FILMS
Nanny
Written and directed by Nikyatu Jusu, Nanny is a drama/suspense film that follows an undocumented Senegalese woman who works as a Nanny for a wealthy white couple in NYC while saving up to send for her son who she has not seen in nearly a year. I initially thought this would be more horror, and while there are horror elements, the core conflicts are in the internal emotional turmoil of the protagonist. What I love about the film (aside from how gorgeous it is and the masterful color treatment) is how Jusu uses the palpable anxiety of being Black and an immigrant and working for white people in domestic settings as the driver for suspense. Though it's been a common critique of Black horror films that there is too much mimicking of Jordan Peele in the years since Get Out, Jusu's writing and directorial style are specific and well-defined. I don't know how I feel about the last 1/4 of the film, but overall a great watch.
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
This film was an experience that I lowkey wish I would've seen in theaters instead of wasting my $20 on NOPE. Directed by Daniel Kwan and Daniel Schienert (aka "Daniels") who got their start as music video directions, it has been described as sci-fi/adventure and absurdist comedy, but for any woman who has mother issues, it also serves as a tearjerker relationship drama. A LOT is going on in this film, multiverses, generational traumas, martial arts, hot dog fingers (yes, you read that correctly), but its genius is making all of its madness feel well-integrated.
FAREWELL AMOR
Directed by Ekwa Masangi, Farewell Amor follows an Angolan woman who moves to Brooklyn with her daughter to live with her husband, whom she has not seen in 17 years. The newly reunited family finds belonging through dance; my only gripe is that I wish more dancing was in the film. What I love about this film is that it speaks to reacclimating after family estrangement and the hopefulness of starting over to create something that deviates from expectations.
TRIANGLE OF SADNESS
This film kind of fucked me up. I'm not sure if the first 15 minutes of it were essential, but once you push through that to part II, shit gets weird AND real. It's an absurdist comedy about unreasonably entitled, extremely wealthy white people. Unlike The White Lotus (🙄), the absurdist tone makes the narrative feel less like navel-gazing and more like a commentary on the little value the 10% bring with and without their wealth, access, and privilege.
ONE HOUR PHOTO
New to me and possibly old to you. I watched this film for the first time this year, and I can't believe I had never heard of it before. Written and directed by Mark Romanek and starring the late great Robin Williams, One Hour Photo follows a middle-aged man who works at a photo lab and becomes obsessed with a family whose pictures he develops. Parts of this film made me so uncomfortable, but not in a graphic way, more like yelling, "wtf are you doing?!?" at the TV way.
MUSIC
When Everything is Better, I'll Let You Know by Pip Millett
I have a healthy obsession with R&B music created by British people. I don't know what's in the water across the pond, but there's a reflective soulfulness to British R&B that is missing from a lot of contemporary American R&B music. Pip Millett has been a favorite of mine for a minute, and her debut studio album does not disappoint. As the title implies, it's an album about recovering from sadness, heartbreak, etc., but the approach is less like a gut-wrenching sliding down the wall tragically sad album and more like a contemplative retelling of what went wrong and how to grow from it.
Play With The Changes (Remixed) by Rochelle Jordan
I loved the original Play With The Changes EP, but the remix EP had me in a CHOKEHOLD— so much so that it was the catalyst for finally releasing me for the two-month vice grip Beyoncé's Renaissance had on my edges. If you're into the likes of Kelela or Kaytranada, you will love love love this project. The pen, the vocals, the 808s *mwah* 👩🏾🍳💋
CAPRISONGS by fka Twigs
I still can't believe this woman has the nerve to call this a mixtape when it's arguably the best full-length project she's released. In twig's most vibrant offering to date, we get the pleasure of seeing her step out of her avant-garde lane and try sounds that range from dancehall to r&b, art pop, UK drill, and grime. I love the versatility of this project, and not that she ever had to prove anything to y'all but seeing her show the full range of her artistry to a lot of people who could never quite "get it" when it came to her work in general, really helped clear my skin earlier this year.
Phone Calls Gimme Anxiety by Peter $un
I first discovered Richmond-based rapper Peter $un as a music submission for UNPOPCULTR, and I've been listening to him ever since. His latest EP reflects mental health, yearning for growth, and acknowledging imperfections. Sonically, it's my preferred style of hip hop, incorporating hard-knocking beats, jazz, soul, and even some sung vocals. It's always great seeing Black men allow themselves to be vulnerable and use their art to heal.
Hypnos by Raven Lenae
As someone who has been listening since Moon Shoes, I can say affirmatively that Ms. Ravyn does not miss. Hypnos feels like an expansion of her previous offerings (specifically, the Steve Lacy-produced Crush EP). Lenae's approach has always been a whimsical blend of genres, but futuristic production and distinct vocal layering give her debut LP some added color and texture that I thoroughly enjoy.
Honorable mentions: Trying Not to Think About it by Jojo, Marigold by Alex Isley
BOOKS
Mama Day by Gloria Naylor
Written by the late Gloria Naylor (Women of Brewster's Place), Mama Day is a blend of folklore, magical realism, and Shakespearean narratives set against the backdrop of New York City and Willow Springs (a fictional place that seems to be heavily inspired by the Gullah Geechee region of the south). The ending was not 100% satisfying, but I loved the journey throughout this book. It had beautiful imagery and was super imaginative.
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
A family road trip book for the ages that includes plenty of MESS Caramelo is a coming-of-age story that follows the only girl child in a family full of boys through childhood and adolescence as they bounce around from Chicago to Mexico and San Antonio.
Butter Honey Pig Bread by Francesca Ekwuyasi
Butter Honey Pig Bread tells the story of estranged twin sisters and their mother as the three to reunite in Nigeria to heal past traumas and rebuild their relationships. The matriarch, Kambirinachi, is an Ogbanje, a non-human spirit that incites misfortune on her mother by dying as a child. She decides to stay alive and suffers consequences through enduring mental health struggles that impact her daughters.
Carefree Black Girls by Zeba Blay
I've been a fan of Zeba Blay's well-curated Instagram carousels that serve as an archive for creative, joyful, and complex Black women. This book elaborates on Blay's specific brand of celebrating and analyzing Black womanhood. Carefree Black Girls is a well-rounded perspective on Black women in pop culture and how it informs and influences us. Some of the themes explored in this book are colorism, being "problematic," fatphobia, the limitations of representation, and what it means to be carefree. I appreciate that Blay balances her critiques with grace, even when speaking about herself and the way her own thinking has evolved.
Sidewalk by Mitchell Duneier
My boyfriend recommended this book that he read while an undergrad at NYU. It is a non-fiction sociological text from years of research done by Duneier about unhoused, mostly Black male book vendors in Greenwich Village in the 90s. It was fascinating to learn how and why the unhoused took on this vocation, the legislation that influenced it, and the unwritten rules that allowed vendors to look out for one another to ensure each person could maintain their livelihood.
That's it for this year! Let me know what I missed out in the comments. I'll be back in New Year with more consistent *evergreen* newsletters because I'm too slow to keep up with pop culture. Feel free to drop some suggestions in the comments for what you want to see me run my mouth about.
Lastly, there are 14 days left in the Indiegogo campaign for my film 'One of The Guys'’ Please consider donating or sharing the campaign with a friend so we can pay our super-talented crew and get the film across the finish line 🫶🏾
Catch me on these digital streets
💋 ✌🏾
LaChelle