Touré (journalist)

Touré

Touré in 2014
Born Touré Neblett
(1971-03-20) March 20, 1971
Boston, Massachusetts, United States[1]
Occupation Television host, novelist, journalist, critic
Language English
Nationality American
Spouse Rita Nakouzi (m. 2005)
Children 2

Touré (born Touré Neblett; March 20, 1971) is an American writer, music journalist, cultural critic, and television personality. He was a co-host of the TV show The Cycle on MSNBC. He was also a contributor to MSNBC's The Dylan Ratigan Show, and the host of Fuse's Hiphop Shop and On the Record. He serves on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee.[2] He taught 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.[4][5]

He attended Milton Academy,[6] and then Emory University but dropped out after his junior year.[7] In 1996, he attended Columbia University's MFA writing program for one year.[8]

Career

Writing career

While a student at Emory University, Touré founded a black student newspaper, The Fire This Time,[9] dedicated to black liberation theology while he was a student from 1989 to 1992.[10] The paper has been described as "anti-white" and "lavished praise on famous anti-Semites, black supremacists, and conspiracy theorists".[11] He also brought to the campus such speakers as Conrad Muhammad (a one time high-ranking official with the Nation of Islam, who later became a Baptist minister), H. Rap Brown, aka Imam Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (author of the autobiography, Die Nigger Die!), fringe political candidate Lenora Fulani, and Frances Cress Welsing, a self described black supremacist.[10][11] In an interview with The Daily Caller in 2013, Touré said The Fire This Time had been "an important black voice on campus" and "a form of community building."[10][11]

Touré began his writing career as an intern at Rolling Stone in 1992.[12] He has contributed essays and articles to Rolling Stone,[13][14][15][16] Essence,[17] The New Yorker,[18] The New York Times,[19] Playboy,[20] Time,[21] The Village Voice,[22] Vibe, The Washington Post[23] and Ebony.[24] His Rolling Stone article about Dale Earnhardt Jr., "Kurt is My Co-Pilot", was included in The Best American Sports Writing 2001.[16][25] His writing has also been featured in the collections Best American Essays of 1999, the Da Capo Best Music Writing of 2004 and Best American Erotica of 2004.[26]

Touré has written five books. In 2002, his short story collection Portable Promised Land was published. He also wrote a novel, Soul City (2004),[27] which was set in an African-American utopia, according to The Washington Post.[28] His 2006 essay collection, Never Drank the Kool-Aid, included the personal essay, "What's Inside You, Brother?", which was considered for inclusion in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's "Best American Essays of 1996".[29] In 2012, Touré published Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?: What it Means to be Black Now, a book on race in modern America based on a collection of interviews Touré conducted with over 100 prominent African-American icons.[30][31] Who’s Afraid of Post-Blackness? was named one of the most influential books of 2011 by both The New York Times and The Washington Post, and the book earned Touré a nomination for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Non-Fiction.[32] In 2013, Touré published I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon, a biography of Prince that discusses the pop artist's works and legacy in a religious context.[33] The book is based on a series of lectures Touré delivered at Harvard University in 2012.[34]

Television

Touré interviewing DJ Spooky at the 2009 Brooklyn Book Festival.

In 2002, Touré appeared opposite Paula Zahn on CNN's American Morning[35] and was later featured three times a week on a panel called "90-Second Pop".[36] He was subsequently hired as CNN's first pop culture correspondent.[37] In 2005, BET hired Touré to cover BET News and Public Affairs programming.[38]

He also hosted the series Community Surface on Tennis Channel[39] and MTV's Spoke N' Heard,[40] and was interviewed on the life of Eminem for the rapper's A&E Biography episode. In 2008, he hosted the reality show I'll Try Anything Once, in which he tried a variety of jobs and activities, including rodeo clowning and lumberjacking.[41]

From June 25, 2012, to July 31, 2015, he co-hosted The Cycle on MSNBC with former congressional candidate Krystal Ball, moderate Republican Abby Huntsman, and The Nation correspondent Ari Melber.[42] The Cycle's key demographic was initially made up of Generation X viewers, and its success in this age bracket was attributed to the engaging personalities of its unusually young hosts.[43] Touré often introduced race theory into political discussion on the show.[44] On July 24, 2015, media outlets reported that MSNBC was restructuring its television lineup to eliminate shows such as The Cycle due to disappointingly low ratings.[45] MSNBC confirmed the cancellation on July 30.

Touré criticized and debated with Piers Morgan over the latter's March 2012 interview with George Zimmerman's brother, particularly over what Touré saw as Morgan's lack of response to Robert Zimmerman's problematic replies.[46][47]

In August 2012, as part of a discussion on The Cycle, Touré claimed Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney had engaged in racial coding by calling President Barack Obama "angry," and referred to this as "niggerization." Touré apologized for using the word the next day.[48]

In May 2014, Touré drew criticism from the Simon Wiesenthal Center for implying Holocaust survivors succeeded in the U.S. after the Second World War because they were white: a blogger from the website Yo, Dat's Racis'!! tweeted at Touré, "My family survived a concentration camp, came to the US w/ nothing, LEGALLY, and made it work" to which Touré replied, "the power of whiteness." Touré later apologized for his comment, saying, "In an attempt to comment on racism in post World War II America, I used a shorthand that was insensitive and wrong."[49][50]

Personal life

On March 19, 2005, Touré married Lebanese American novelist and pop culture commentator Rita Nakouzi.[51] Rev. Run from Run-DMC was the officiant and Nelson George served as the best man. Touré and his wife live in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.[52] They have a son named Hendrix and a daughter named Fairuz.[51]

National Review disclosed in 2015 that Touré has nearly $60,000 in tax liens due to unpaid New York state taxes.[53]

Bibliography

References

  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. ↑ 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. ↑ Lewis, Miles Marshall (August 25, 2011). "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Black". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
    Quote: "Touré Neblett is the cultural critic folks love to hate."
  6. ↑ "Touré BIOGRAPHY: Writer, Journalist, Critic and Television Host", bigcitypix.com, February 1, 2008.
  7. ↑ Toure. Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?. Simon & Schuster. Retrieved November 17, 2014.
  8. ↑ Mondella S. Jones (July 1, 2002). "BIBR spotlight: Toure: a charmed life". Black Issues Book Review. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
  9. ↑ Loftus, Mary J. (Autumn 2009). "News Makers: Minority voices speak in Black Star magazine". Emory Magazine. Retrieved April 25, 2012. ...a successor to Emory’s black student newspaper, The Fire This Time (which was founded by Emory alumnus, journalist, and novelist Touré and ceased publication in 2003).
  10. 1 2 3 Ritz, Eric. "Report: MSNBC Host Touré Founded a 'Militant Anti-White Student Newspaper'". Yahoo! News. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Johnson, Charles C.; Girdusky, Ryan (April 9, 2013). "MSNBC's Touré founded militant anti-white student paper". The Daily Caller. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  12. ↑ Williams, Kam. "Tora! Tora! Touré!: The "Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?" Interview". Pittsburgh Urban Media. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  13. ↑ Petey E. Menz (March 27, 2012). "Critic Toure Reveals Prince's Religious Roots". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  14. ↑ "The Book of Jay". Rolling Stoneauthor=Touré. 2006. Archived from the original on 2006.
  15. ↑ "Adele Opens Up About Her Inspirations, Looks and Stage Fright in New Rolling Stone Cover Story". Rolling Stone. April 13, 2011. Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  16. 1 2 Mattei, Al. "Book Review: Visionary Choice Mark 2001 Edition". www.topofthecircle.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  17. ↑ Lewis, Miles Marshall (August 25, 2011). "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Black". The Huffington Post.
  18. ↑ Touré (March 23, 2014). "Black and White on Martha's Vineyard". New York magazine.
  19. ↑ Touré (August 5, 2011). "Preconceptions", The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  20. ↑ Touré (April 2014). "How the Central Park Five Still Haunt America". Playboy. pp. 54-58, 126-127
  21. ↑ Touré (April 11, 2013). "Viewpoint: You Can't Be An 'Accidental' Racist". Time. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  22. ↑ Touré (January 24, 2006). "Platinum Reputation". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  23. ↑ Toure (August 22, 2014). "Black America and the burden of the perfect victim". The Washington Post. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  24. ↑ "Culture Critic Touré to Discuss 'Post-Blackness' Dec. 1", Duke University, November 28, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Best American Sports Writing Index 1991-2012". indiepro.com. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
  26. ↑ "Touré Speaker Bureau Bio". Simon & Schuster. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  27. ↑ West, Abby. "Soul City". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  28. ↑ Neate, Patrick. "Over the Top in a Hip-Hop World". Book Report. washingtonpost.com. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  29. ↑ "Never Drank the Kool-Aid". Picador. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  30. ↑ Pierre, Brittny (March 7, 2013. "Touré Tackles Prince in New Book, Finds Jesus, Discovers They're One in the Same". The Village Voice. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  31. ↑ Patterson, Orlando (September 22, 2011). "The Post-Black Condition". The New York Times.
  32. ↑ Finn, John (August 27, 2013). "Wooster Forum to Examine the Complexity of Race". The College of Wooster. Retrieved October 10, 2014.
  33. ↑ Hampton, Howard (May 31, 2013). "Pop Life Touré's 'I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon'". The New York Times.
  34. ↑ Pierre, Brittny (March 19, 2015). "Touré Tackles Prince in New Book, Finds Jesus, Discovers They're One in the Same", villagevoice.com; accessed May 11, 2015.
  35. ↑ "Does 'The Rising' touch the sky?". American Morning. CNN. July 30, 2002. Retrieved October 20, 2014.
  36. ↑ Williams, Kam. "Tora! Tora! Touré!: The "Who's Afraid of Post-Blackness?" Interview". Pittsburgh Urban Media. Retrieved November 3, 2014.
  37. ↑ Dionne, Evette. "The Love-Hate Complexities of Touré and What it Teaches Us About Blackness". Clutch. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Pop Culture Personality Toure Headed to BET News" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Community Surface". Tennis Channel. Retrieved April 12, 2013.
  40. ↑ "Brooklyn Writers for Brooklyn Readers - Toure". Brooklyn Public Library. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  41. ↑ MacIntyre, April. "Review and Interview: 'I'll Try Anything Once' on Treasure HD a no miss". Smallscreen Reviews. M&C. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  42. ↑ Lauerman, Kerry (June 21, 2012). "Kornacki an MSNBC host, too". Salon Magazine. Salon Media Group. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  43. ↑ Nissenson, Mary (March 29, 2013). "How MSNBC's 'The Cycle' Won Me Over". TheWrap.
  44. ↑ Rothman, Noah. "Why MSNBC's The Cycle Will Shape the Future of Cable News". Mediaite. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  45. ↑ Grove, Lloyd (July 24, 2015). "Tanking MSNBC Gets a Serious Shakeup". The Daily Beast.
  46. ↑ Samuels, Allison. "Piers Morgan vs Touré: How the CNN Host Blew It". The Daily Beast. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  47. ↑ Christopher, Tommy. "Update: Piers Morgan Books MSNBC's Touré in Real Time to Settle Twitter Feud". Mediaite. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  48. ↑ Wemple, Erik (August 17, 2012). "MSNBC's Touré apologizes for 'niggerization' remark". The Washington Post.
  49. ↑ Chasmar, Jessica. "MSNBC's Touré says 'power of whiteness' benefited Holocaust survivors". The Washington Times. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  50. ↑ Ross, L.A. (May 27, 2014). "MSNBC Host Apologizes for 'Power of Whiteness' Tweet About Holocaust". TheWrap; retrieved March 19, 2015.
  51. 1 2 Copage, Eric V. (May 22, 2009). "Rita Nakouzi and Touré". The New York Times. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  52. ↑ Navas, Judy Cantor (March 27, 2005). "Rita Nakouzi and Touré". The New York Times.
  53. ↑ Byers, Dylan (2015-04-22). "4 MSNBC hosts plagued by tax debt". Politico. Retrieved 2015-04-27.
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