Touré

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the surname and people with the surname, see Touré (surname).
Touré

Touré in 2006
Born Touré Neblett
(1971-03-20) March 20, 1971
Boston, Massachusetts[1]
Occupation TV host, novelist, journalist, cultural critic
Language English
Nationality American

Touré (born Touré Neblett; March 20, 1971) is an American writer, music journalist, cultural critic, and television personality. He is the host of Fuse's Hiphop Shop and On the Record and co-host of The Cycle on MSNBC. He was also a contributor to MSNBC's The Dylan Ratigan Show and serves on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee.[2] He teaches a course on the history of hip hop at the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, part of the Tisch School of the Arts in New York.[3]

Touré is the author of several books, including The Portable Promised Land (2003), Soul City (2004), Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness? What It Means To Be Black Now (2011), and I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon (2013).

Early life

Touré was born Touré Neblett in Boston on March 20, 1971.[1][4][5] He attended Milton Academy.[6]

Career

Writing career

While a student at Emory University, Touré founded the school's black student newspaper, The Fire This Time,[7] which has been criticized for being militantly anti-white.[8][9] The Daily Caller took issue with the fact that the publication only solicited donations from blacks, and that its articles praised noted anti-Semites, black supremacists, and conspiracy theorists such as H. Rap Brown and Frances Cress Welsing, whom Touré invited to Emory's campus. The Caller also criticized Touré's use of a hoaxed hate crime at Emory as a rationale for a list of demands against the university, even after the crime's ostensible target, Sabrina Collins, admitted that her accusations were a hoax of her creation. Touré defended The Fire This Time as "an important black voice on campus" and "a form of community building."[8][9]

Touré began his career as a music journalist, contributing articles to Rolling Stone,[10][11][2][12] The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Playboy, The Village Voice, Vibe, and Essence magazine.

His Rolling Stone article about Dale Earnhardt Jr., "Kurt is My Co-Pilot", was included in The Best American Sports Writing 2001.[12][13]

Touré has written five books, including Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?, a collection of interviews, and I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon, a Prince biography.[5]

Television

Touré interviewing DJ Spooky at the 2009 Brooklyn Book Festival.

Touré has appeared on television as a pop culture correspondent for CNN, MSNBC, Black Entertainment Television and other networks.[2] He hosted the series Community Surface on Tennis Channel,[14] and was one of the journalists interviewed for biographical insight into the life of rapper Eminem on the A&E Biography episode devoted to that musician.[15] He currently hosts The Cycle on MSNBC with political strategist Krystal Ball, moderate Republican Abby Huntsman, and The Nation correspondent Ari Melber.[16]

On March 29, 2012, Touré criticized Piers Morgan's interview of Robert Zimmerman regarding his brother George's shooting of Trayvon Martin on Morgan's CNN talk show, Piers Morgan Tonight. Appearing on next day's episode of Piers Morgan Tonight the two continued their hostilities. The two continued to feud on Twitter after the show's taping.[17][18][19] On August 16, 2012, on The Cycle, Touré caused a controversy by stating that by calling President Barack Obama "angry," Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney was engaging in the "niggerization" of the president. He apologized for using the word the next day.[20]

Personal life

On March 19, 2005, Touré married Rita Nakouzi on a beach in Miami, with Rev. Run from Run-DMC as the officiant and Nelson George as the best man. Touré and his wife live in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.[21] They have a son named Hendrix and a daughter named Fairuz.[22]

Bibliography

  • The Portable Promised Land: Stories. New York: Back Bay Books. 2003. ISBN 978-0-316-73836-1. 
  • Soul City: A Novel. New York: Macmillan. 2005. ISBN 978-0-312-42516-6. 
  • Never Drank the Kool-Aid: Essays. New York: Macmillan. 2006. ISBN 978-0-312-42578-4. 
  • Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness? What It Means to Be Black Now. New York: Simon and Schuster. 2011. ISBN 978-1-4391-7756-3. 
  • I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon. New York: Atria Books. 2013. ISBN 978-1476705491. 

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, 2006, s.v. "Toure." "Personal Information: Born March 20, 1971, in Boston, MA; married Rita Nakouzi, March 19, 2005."
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Menz, Wonders, Petey E., Jeannie Sui (March 27, 2012). "Critic Touré Reveals Prince's Religious Roots". The Harvard Crimson. 
  3. ↑ Toure, Faculty directory, Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Target Entertainment launches over 100 hours of new programming at MIPTV". Target Entertainment Group. March 21, 2011. Quote: "...renowned music journalist Touré Neblett talks with some of the most provocative players in music today...."
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lewis, Miles Marshall (August 25, 2011). "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Black". Huffington Post. Quote: "Touré Neblett is the cultural critic folks love to hate."
  6. ↑ "Touré BIOGRAPHY: Writer, Journalist, Critic and Television Host". Big City Pictures. February 1, 2008.
  7. ↑ Loftus, Mary J. (Autumn 2009). "News makers". Emory Magazine. Retrieved 25 April 2012. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Johnson, Charles C.; Girdusky, Ryan (April 9, 2013). "MSNBC’s Touré founded militant anti-white student paper". The Daily Caller. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Ritz, Eric (April 9, 2013). "Report: MSNBC Host Toure Founded a 'Militant Anti-White Student Newspaper'". Yahoo! News.
  10. ↑ Touré (2006). "The Book of Jay". Rolling Stone online. Archived from the original on 2006. 
  11. ↑ "Adele Opens Up About Her Inspirations, Looks and Stage Fright in New Rolling Stone Cover Story". Rolling Stone. April 13, 2011. Retrieved July 05, 2012. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mattei, Al. "Book Review: Visionary Choice Mark 2001 Edition". www.topofthecircle.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012. 
  13. ↑ "Best American Sports Writing Index 1991-2012". indiepro.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012. 
  14. ↑ "Community Surface". Tennis Channel. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  15. ↑ Biography: Eminem. A&E
  16. ↑ Lauerman, Kerry (June 21, 2012). "Kornacki an MSNBC host, too". Salon Magazine. Salon Media Group. Retrieved June 22, 2012. 
  17. ↑ Christopher, Tommy (March 30, 2012). "Update: Piers Morgan Books MSNBC’s Touré In Real Time To Settle Twitter Feud". Mediaite.
  18. ↑ Christopher, Tommy (March 30, 2012). "Piers Morgan And Touré Finish Their Twitter Feud On CNN’s Air". Mediaite.
  19. ↑ Stableford, Dylan (Apr 1, 2012). "Toure apologizes for Piers Morgan meltdown". Yahoo! News.
  20. ↑ Wemple, Erik (17 Aug 2012). "MSNBC’s Touré apologizes for ‘niggerization’ remark". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-09-21. 
  21. ↑ Navas, Judy Cantor. "Rita Nakouzi and Touré". The New York Times. March 27, 2005
  22. ↑ Copage, Eric V. (May 22, 2009). "Rita Nakouzi and Touré". The New York Times.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Touré.
Authority control
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.