Disney travels down south to the Big Easy for their latest animated feature

The Princess and the Frog represents two firsts for the studio that Mickey Mouse built: it’s Disney’s first hand-drawn animated feature since 2004’s Home on the Range and it’s the first cartoon to feature a predominantly black cast.  Based on the classic fairy tale about a slimy amphibian that puts the moves on a hottie princess, the film takes place in ’20s-era New Orleans and follows Tiana (voiced by Anika Noni Rose), the daughter of a wealthy family living in the city’s famed French Quarter.  Her cushy life is turned upside down by the sudden apperance of a talking frog with a crazy story to tell.  Apparently he used to be a flesh-and-blood human being until a curse transformed him into a four-legged puddle jumper.  The only thing that can cure him is the kiss of a beautiful woman, i.e. Tiana.  But when she actually locks lips with the frog…well, watch the trailer to see what happens next.  Due in theaters in December, the movie’s vocal cast also includes Terrence Howard, Keith David and Oprah freakin’ Winfrey.

Artist Logan Walters has taken some of the Clan’s most heralded album covers and remixed them with Blue Note Records style art. Check out the gallery below and let us know what you think of the new flips! 

Source: Street Level via SlamxHype

Ruined is a story of young women who have been raped and brutalized in the Congo’s decade-long civil war. The play premiered last year at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre and traveled to the off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club’s Stage I, where its run has been extended for a third time to through May 10.

The play stars Phylicia Rashad’s daughter, newcomer Condola Rashad, as Sophie, a rape victim whose genitals have been mutilated. Read more about the star-on-the-rise here.

The Setup
“This is my first solo show of this size. A year ago, they flew me out to see the space and we talked about the setup. Then I figured out what works best: Just make the work and stop thinking.”

Letting Go
Kaphar relied heavily on curator Sandra Jackson-Dumont. “You have to work with someone you trust. You have to have a good idea of their vision because then you can let them do that.”

Negotiation
“Four months ago, Sandra came to narrow down what would be included.” Some selections were obvious, while others were not. “There’s a nice piece that I had to pull out. I have conversations with it, like, ‘You figure out what you want yet?’ and it’s not saying. So I’m waiting. [I also ended up] including things I never intended on showing.”

Methodology
Kaphar’s work is more than painted canvases—he shreds them, crumples them into balls and stitches them together. “If I’m feeling hyped, then it’s time to deconstruct or do a drawing. If I’ve got that focused energy, then it’s time to paint.”

Time Management
With a small family and a budding career, Kaphar doesn’t play. “I get up at 5:30 A.M—my newborn doesn’t sleep—then I get my two-year-old up at 7:00 A.M., make breakfast. At 9: 30 A.M., I come into the studio and my here until 7:00 P.M. All that romantic ‘Ah, I gotta wait to be inspired’ kind of thing is gone.”

This past year Russell Simmons, the mogul behind HBO’s Def Poetry, set out to track eight teams of teenagers from across the country as they fought their way to the national finals in Washington DC. “Brave New Voices” fuses the heat of a poetry slam competition, the beauty of art and the struggle of life into one compelling series that you won’t want to miss.

The six-part HBO series is narrated by Queen Latifah and is scheduled to debut on April 5.

-Lukas Brekke-Miesner

The self-proclaimed “best rapper alive,” Lil Wayne rocked a momentous performance for MTV’s Spring Break ‘09. His controversial jump from rap to rock star made for a blazing performance of “Prom Queen,” his new leading track off of his upcoming album Rebirth . Wayne once again displayed his guitar skills while his band shook the crowd on stage in Panama City Beach, Florida.

-Jeremy Clayton

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Daughter of Mrs. Huxtable herself, Condola Rashad stars in the Off-Broadway play Ruined which just opened and has already received an extension through April, with hints of a Broadway upgrade. The young Rashad takes on the difficult character of Sophie, a Congolese woman raped with a bayonet, leaving her genitals mutilated, and left for dead. The play is getting rave reviews from critics, and comparisons to her mother’s recent Broadway takeover (Raisin in the Sun) are abound.

Theater that takes on tragic topics such as war leave viewers cold and disinterested in our entertain us! society but Rashad’s performance makes up for it, grounding the horrors in a survivor with a soul too large to silence.

Ben Brantley of the New York Times says: “Portrayed with a masterly blend of delicacy and resourcefulness by Ms. Rashad, Sophie is something more than a passive, beautiful victim.”

Keep your eye on this young beauty.

New York’s Soho district was alive with art lovers on Wednesday evening. Celebrities, art enthusiasts and a who’s who from the city’s art scene gathered to attend Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation’s 2009 Gold Rush Awards. The multi-media fundraising event, hosted by MTV’s Sway and presented by artist and foundation co-founder Danny Simmons, honored music and art program founders Beverly Bond and Sonja Okun, and writer/ curator Franklin Sirmans. Notable guests Grammy winner Estelle, actor Jamie Hector, and photographer Jamel Shabazz socialized while rapper Talib Kweli and DJ Cassidy rocked the evening’s music.

This was supposed to be another great moment for Shepard Fairey, the LA-based artist who has been on top of the world these days. His portrait of Obama made the cover of Time as well as the Smithsonian, becoming a global symbol of change. For the past two weeks, Fairey has been preparing for his first solo museum exhibit at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston.

In the end, this week just sucked.

First, the Associated Press accused him of stealing photographer Manny Garcia’s 2006 image of Obama (above left), which Fairey admits to using. AP claims they own the image copyright and are suing him for credit and compensation. You’d think those portraits meant big bucks for the artist, but Fairey claims he never made a cent from it, and all proceeds somehow or another funneled back to the campaign. He claims that he has altered the image into a work of art using the defense of “fair use.” That’s a legal concept that allows exceptions to copyright law based on how much of the original image is used and what the new work is used for. He has since counter-sued, saying he has transformed the photo into a ”stunning, abstracted and idealized visual image that creates a powerful new meaning and conveys a radically different message.”

Heavy, right? But that wasn’t enough. Then, dude was arrested.

Fairey was arrested on two warrants of vandalism by the Boston Police. What would normally merit a $100 fine became a huge ordeal, with several police officers staking out the ICA, waiting for the artist to show up for his opening night reception. As he pulled into the museum’s parking lot, cops surrounded the taxi and pulled Fairey from the car forcefully, ordering his wife and two friends to sit on the curb.

Not cool.

Anyway, the man keeps getting press and I keep writing about him, so cool or not, he’s doing something right.

Just an add-on: Obama wrote dude a letter after the election which I placed below. I love the line: “Your images have a profound effect on people, whether seen in a gallery or on a stop sign.” (Love Obama!)

The latest show, “All That Glitters Is Gold,” is a group show featuring graff greats CRIME 79, Can2, Carlos “Mare139″ Rodriguez, Chris Smith aka “Subtexture,” EWOK5MH, Indie184, LogikOne and many more. (In other words, real deal cats.)

Opening reception is this Saturday at 7. Be there…