Nelson George facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nelson George
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George in New York City, 2023
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| Born | September 1, 1957 |
| Education | St. John's University |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouse(s) | Malika Weeden |
| Awards | Grammy Award, Album Liner Notes, James Brown Star Time Box Set, 1991 |
Nelson George (born September 1, 1957) is an American writer, journalist, and filmmaker. He is also known as a columnist and a critic of music and culture. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award.
About Nelson George
Nelson George went to St. John's University. He started his career as an intern at the New York Amsterdam News. Later, he became the black music editor for Record World. From 1982 to 1989, George worked as a music editor for Billboard magazine.
While at Billboard, he wrote two books. These were Where Did Our Love Go: The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound in 1986. The second was The Death of Rhythm & Blues in 1988. He also wrote a column called "Native Son" for the Village Voice. This column ran from 1988 to 1992.
George first got involved in movies in 1986. He helped fund director Spike Lee's first movie, She's Gotta Have It. Nelson George has always lived in Brooklyn, New York. He still lives in the Fort Greene area of Brooklyn.
Books by Nelson George
Nelson George has written many non-fiction books. One of his bestsellers was The Michael Jackson Story in 1984. Other books include Blackface: Reflections on African-Americans and the Movies from 1994. He also wrote Elevating the Game: Black Men and basketball in 1992. His book Hip Hop America came out in 1998.
In 2005, he published Post-Soul Nation. This book talked more about his idea of "post-soul" black culture. With Alan Leeds, he co-wrote The James Brown Reader in 2008. This book was a collection of articles about the "Godfather of Soul."
George's book The Death of Rhythm and Blues looks at how R&B music has changed. He explores how the genre became more popular with everyone. He also suggests that some artists changed their style to become more mainstream.
Nelson George has also written five detective novels. These books feature a character named D Hunter. D Hunter is a bodyguard who becomes a private investigator. All three novels, The Accidental Hunter, The Plot Against Hip-Hop: A Novel, and The Lost Treasures of R&B, have been chosen by rapper and actor Common to be made into movies.
Nelson George's Work in Film and TV
In 1991, Nelson George helped write the movie Strictly Business, starring Halle Berry. In 1993, he helped create the movie CB4, which starred comedian Chris Rock.
In 2004, George made a short film called To Be a Black Man. It starred Samuel L. Jackson. He also made a documentary called A Great Day in Hip-Hop. Both films were shown at festivals in New York, London, and Amsterdam. He was an executive producer for the HBO movie Everyday People. This film also premiered in 2004 at the Sundance Film Festival.
He was a co-executive producer for VH1's Hip Hop Honors TV show. He was also an executive producer for Black Entertainment Television's American Gangster series. This series was the most watched show in BET's history in 2006. His first movie as a director was Life Support. It starred Queen Latifah and aired on HBO on March 10, 2007. Queen Latifah won many awards for her role as Ana Wallace. These included a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild award, and an NAACP Image Award. Life Support was also named the best TV film of the year by the NAACP. George also hosted the VH-1 series Soul Cities. This show explored the music and culture of six important cities in the U.S.
Nelson George has lived in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, for over 25 years. In 2012, he wrote, narrated, and co-directed a documentary called Brooklyn Boheme with Diane Paragas. This film showed the lively African-American artistic community in Fort Greene and Clinton Hill during the 1980s and 1990s. Many famous artists were part of this community. These included Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Branford Marsalis, Rosie Perez, Saul Williams, Lorna Simpson, Toshi Reagon, and Erykah Badu. Unlike the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s, which was mostly about literature, these artists explored new forms of art. They worked in film, rock music, hip hop, theater, stand-up comedy, and photography. The film first aired on Showtime Networks in February 2012 for Black History Month.
Finding The Funk was released in March 2013. This film traced the history of funk music from the 1960s to today. It included interviews with musicians like D'Angelo, Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins, and Sheila E. It aired on VH1 on February 14, 2013. In 2015, George released A Ballerina's Tale. This was a documentary about Misty Copeland. She is a main ballet dancer for ABT (American Ballet Theatre).
In 2023, he was an executive producer for a new CBC documentary series. It was called Black Life: Untold Stories. This series looked at the history, experiences, and contributions of Black Canadians. It covered many areas of culture, including music, hip-hop, sports, and even topics like slavery and policing.
Filmography
- Def by Temptation, 1990, executive producer
- Strictly Business, 1991, associate producer
- Just Another Girl on the I.R.T., 1992, associate producer
- CB4, 1993, producer, writer
- Everyday People, 2004, executive producer
- The N-Word, 2004, producer
- Good Hair, 2009, producer
- Left Unsaid, 2010, director, producer
- Brooklyn Boheme, 2011, director, producer
- All Hail the Beat, 2012, director, producer
- Finding the Funk, 2013, director, producer
- Top Five, 2014, associate producer
- A Ballerina's Tale, 2015, director, producer
- The Get Down, 2017, writer, producer
- Tales from the Tour Bus, 2019, producer
- The Black Godfather, 2019, producer
- With Drawn Arms, 2020, co-executive producer
- A Grammy Salute to The Sounds of Change, 2021, writer
- Say Hey Willie Mays!, 2022, director
- Dear Mama, 2023, executive producer
- Thriller 40, 2023, director
