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Nelson George is an author, filmmaker, television producer, and critic
with a long career in analyzing and presenting the diverse elements of
African-American culture.
Queen Latifah won the Golden Globe for playing the lead in his
directorial debut, the HBO movie 'Life Support'. The critically
acclaimed drama looked at the effects of HIV on a troubled black family
in his native Brooklyn, New York. He recently co-edited, with Alan
Leeds, 'The James Brown Reader (Plume)', a collection of previously
published articles about the Godfather of Soul that date as far back
the late '50s. Plume published the book in May '08.
He is an executive producer on two returning cable shows: the third
season of BET's American Gangster and the fifth airing of VH1's Hip Hop
Honors. George is the executive producer of
the Chris Rock hosted feature documentary, Good Hair, a look at hair
weaves, relaxers and the international black hair economy that premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.
Nelson George served as host of Soul Cities, a travel show that
debuted in November 2008. on VH1 Soul. Nelson visited Los Angeles, New
Orleans, Philadelphia, Memphis, New Orleans and the Bay Area. He eats
food, visits historic sites, and hears lots of music. LaBelle, Robin
Thicke, Babyface, Rafael Saadiq, Angie Stone and Jazmine Sullivan are
among the many artists who talked with Nelson and perform. He currently
serves as travel editor-at-large for www.BlackAtlas.com.
Throughout the '80s and '90s George was an columnist for Billboard
magazine and the Village Voice newspaper, work that led him to write a
series of award winning black music histories: 'Where Did Our Love Go:
The Rise and Fall of the Motown Sound'; 'The Death of Rythm &
Blues'; and 'Hip Hop America'. He won a Grammy for his contribution to
the linear notes package on the James Brown 'Star Time' boxed set.
George co-wrote 'Life and Def', the autobiography of his old friend
Russell Simmons. He's also had a career writing fiction, including the
bestselling 'One Woman Short', and the story, 'It's Never Too Late in
New York', which has been in several anthologies of erotica.
As a screenwriter George co-wrote 'Strictly Business', which starred
Halle Berry, and 'CB4', a vehicle for Chris Rock. His work with Rock
led to his involvement with 'The Chris Rock Show',
an Emmy award winning HBO late night series. He was an executive
producer of Jim McKay's film, 'Everyday People', which premiered at the
Sundance festival, and Todd Williams' Peabody award winning documentary
'The N Word'. In 2009 Viking published his memoir, 'City Kid', a
look at the connections between childhood in Brooklyn and his adult
career in Manhattan, Los Angeles and Detroit. It is now available in paperback.
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