Culture Vulture

Without Clarence Avant (right, with Quincy Jones), there would be no Bill Withers or Snoop Dogg. Clarence who? We don't blame you for not having heard of him because neither had we until we saw The Black Godfather, now streaming on Netflix. The new documentary pays tribute to the aforementioned American music executive and entrepreneur who is credited with the success of artistes like jazz diva Sarah Vaughan and Mission: Impossible theme composer Lalo Schifrin. But Avant's influence spread beyond music and Hollywood - ex-US president Barack Obama says the former helped him secure a primetime slot for his speech at the 2004 Democratic convention... and the rest is history. The Black Godfather is the untold story of how one no-nonsense black American stood up against racial prejudice in the sixties and used his sharp business acumen to shape black pop culture and beyond. Inspiring stuff.