Tamarat Makonnen (born March 16, 1972, San Francisco, California) is an American film director, producer and writer. A graduate of Virginia Union University, he received his degree in English Language Arts. The native New Yorker began his professional career directing music videos. His first music video "The Beginning of the End" was for EMI recording artists Boogiemonsters. The New World Order inspired music video displayed a dark society where those who opposed the new government were detained for scientific experiments and tracked with barcodes in their hands. The video led to Makonnen creating music videos and electronic press kits (EPK) for an array of artists including: R&B singer Ne-Yo, Tupac Shakur collaborator C-Bo and political hip hop duo dead prez.
Makonnen has directed several music videos for dead prez, including the controversial "They Schools", a blistering indictment of the nation's deteriorating school system. At the time of its release, the video was banned from national video outlets due to its arresting imagery and subject matter. The video and its subsequent ban have since been discussed in several books including, "Stand & Deliver: Political Activism, Leadership, and Hip Hop Culture" by Yvonne Bynoe; "Race and Resistance: African Americans in the 21st Century" by Herb Boyd; and "Rap Music and Culture" by Kate Burns. Makonnen followed up "They Schools" with a second dead prez video, the critically acclaimed "Mind Sex". The song and video featured spoken word pioneer Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets. The video aired nationwide and overseas. Both "They Schools" and "Mind Sex" are songs from dead prez's seminal debut album Let's Get Free.
In 2009, Makonnen made his feature film debut, directing the American drama film Dreams and Shadows starring James Russo and Shawn-Caulin Young. The film follows a teenage outcast as he embarks on a misguided mission to avenge the wrongs inflicted on his father.
In 2013, Makonnen directed the award-winning documentary "In Search of the Black Knight". The film takes a comedic and thought-provoking look at the current state of African-American relationships. "In Search of the Black Knight" screened at multiple film festivals across the country and won several "Best Documentary" awards.
Makonnen has also directed several popular digital series including: "The New Shade of Black", starring Travina Springer (Ms. Marvel (miniseries)) and "The Unwritten Rules", starring Aasha Davis (Friday Night Lights (TV series)) and Pariah (2011 film)). "The Unwritten Rules" is based on creator Kim Williams' book "40 Hours and an Unwritten Rule: The Diary of an African-American Woman".
In 2022, Makonnen directed the short film "The Scars You Feed". Inspired by true events, the film centers around a man who learns his cancer has returned. While fighting the disease, he's faced with other aspects of his life that are falling apart.
Various entertainment outlets have covered Makonnen's work including MTV, BET, IndieWire and Billboard.
Boogie Down Productions (BDP) was an American hip hop group originally composed of KRS-One, D-Nice, and DJ Scott La Rock. DJ Scott La Rock was murdered on August 27, 1987, five months after the release of BDP's debut album, Criminal Minded. The name of the group, Boogie Down, derives from a nickname for the South Bronx section of New York City. The group pioneered the fusion of dancehall reggae and hip hop music and their debut LP Criminal Minded contained frank descriptions of life in the South Bronx during the late 1980s, thus setting the stage for what would eventually become gangsta rap.
Kurtis Walker, professionally known by his stage name Kurtis Blow, is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer. He is the first commercially successful rapper and the first to sign with a major record label. "The Breaks", a single from his 1980 self-titled debut album, is the first certified gold record rap song. Throughout his career he has released 17 albums and is currently an ordained minister.
Dana Elaine Owens, better known by her stage name Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, singer, and actress. She has received various accolades, including a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two NAACP Image Awards, in addition to a nomination for an Academy Award. In 2006, she became the first hip hop artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Dead Prez is an American hip hop duo composed of M-1 and stic.man, formed in 1996 in New York City. They are known for their confrontational style, combined with lyrics focused on both militant social justice, self-determination, and Pan-Africanism. The duo maintains an ethical stance against corporate control over the media, especially hip hop record labels.
Oscar Jackson Jr., better known by his stage name Paris, is an American rapper and record producer from San Francisco, California, known for his highly charged political and socially conscious lyrics. Influenced by the Black Panthers, he was once a member of the Nation of Islam.
Israeli hip hop refers to hip hop and rap music in Israel. Israeli hip hop artists have mainly emerged from the populations of Mizrahi Jews, Ethiopian Jews, and Israeli-Arabs, though there have also been numerous artists from Israeli Ashkenazi Jews especially Hasidim. Israeli hip hop artists enjoy wide popularity in Israel and have succeeded in appealing to international markets particularly the United States.
Keinan Abdi Warsame, better known by his stage name K'naan, is a Somali-Canadian rapper and singer. He rose to prominence with the success of his single "Wavin' Flag", which was chosen as Coca-Cola's promotional anthem for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Besides hip hop, K'naan's sound is influenced by elements of Somali music and world music. He is also involved in various philanthropic initiatives.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party, also known as Block Party, is a 2005 American documentary film hosted and written by comedian Dave Chappelle, and directed by Michel Gondry.
Khnum Muata Ibomu, better known by his stage name stic.man and more recently as stic, is an American rapper, activist and author known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo dead prez with M-1.
Lorenzo Dechalus, known professionally as Lord Jamar, is an American rapper, DJ, record producer, actor and podcaster. He is a founding member of the hip hop group Brand Nubian, which was formed in 1989. In 1996, he discovered Dead Prez and got them signed to Loud Records.
Mutulu Olugbala, better known by his stage name M-1, is an American rapper, songwriter, and activist from Brooklyn, New York. He is best known for his work as one half of the political hip hop duo dead prez with stic.man.
John Lee, a.k.a. John Threat, used the name "Corrupt" as a member of Masters of Deception (MOD), a New York based hacker group in the early '90s.
Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes is a 2006 documentary film written, produced, and directed by Byron Hurt. The documentary explores the issues of masculinity, violence, homophobia, and sexism in hip hop music and culture, through interviews with artists, academics, and fans. Hurt's activism in gender issues and his love of hip-hop caused him to feel what he described as a sense of hypocrisy, and began working on the film. The premiere of the film took place at the Sundance Film Festival, and was welcomed by a standing ovation. It has also won Best Documentary at the San Francisco Black Film Festival and the Audience Award at the Roxbury Film Festival. On February 20, 2007 the film aired on the PBS Emmy-winning documentary series, Independent Lens.
Makonnen is an Ethiopian given name. Notable people with the name include:
DJ EFN is an American record label executive and DJ, based in Miami, who specializes in hip-hop. Since the early 1990s, operating most often under the banner of Crazy Hood Productions, EFN has worked in the hip-hop industry in a variety of capacities, including as a mixtape producer, album producer and A&R consultant, radio host, marketing and promotions specialist, clothing retailer, artist manager, and film producer. He is currently best known as the creator and co-host of "Drink Champs," a weekly podcast carried by Sean "Diddy" Combs's Revolt TV network.
Makonnen Kamali Sheran, better known by his stage name iLoveMakonnen, is an American rapper and singer. He is best known for his 2014 single "Tuesday", which initially gained recognition following its remix with Canadian rapper Drake. After its release in August of that year, he signed with Drake's record label OVO Sound, an imprint of Warner Records that same month; the song was re-released by the label shortly after and subsequently peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Tuesday" also received a nomination Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, and served as the lead single for his likewise re-issued self-titled debut extended play (2014), which moderately entered the Billboard 200. He parted ways with OVO in 2016, and his following releases have failed to chart.
Mic Crenshaw is an American recording artist, political activist, and educator living in Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon.
Princess Ariana Austin Makonnen of Ethiopia is an American writer, arts manager and philanthropist. She is the founder of the evening arts festival Art All Night and of the creative agency French Thomas. In 2018, she and her husband launched Old World/New World Productions, a media company that produces content focusing on the African diaspora.
Yayne Abäba is a short novel by the Ethiopian writer, politician, and onetime Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Makonnen Endelkachew. The story features the adventures of a young girl named Yayne Abäba, which means "flower of my eye". It is one of the earliest modern works of science fiction in Islamic literature, and is considered a seminal work in black science fiction. It is sometimes described as containing elements of a cosmic, Lovecraftian horror.
The Ethiopian Revolution was a period of civil, police and military upheaval in Ethiopia to protest against the weakened Haile Selassie government. It is generally thought to have begun on 12 January 1974 when Ethiopian soldiers began a rebellion in Negele Borana, with the protests continuing into February 1974. People from different occupations, starting from junior army officers, students and teachers, and taxi drivers, joined a strike to demand human rights, social change, agrarian reforms, price controls, free schooling, and releasing political prisoners, and labor unions demanded a fixation of wages in accordance with price indexes, as well as pensions for workers, etc.
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