My culture picks: Mavis Staples

11 December 2017

Gospel singer and civil rights activist Mavis Staples began with TheStaple Singers before having great solo success, even collaborating with Bob Dylan and Prince. With new album If All I Was Was Black out now, she reveals her current picks for theatre, music and film.

Hamilton is a historical hiphop musical that tells the story of Alexander Hamilton, an orphaned immigrant who became the United States' first Treasury Secretary.

Mavis says: "You have to see it! My heart was pounding when I left the theatre. It is so great. The music, the thunder, the message - oh my, people were crying, people were sniffing. There’s some sad moments, but there are some joyous moments too. And the music is awesome!"

The original Broadway production, which starred its creator Lin-Manuel Miranda (above, centre) in the title role, has been an incredible success, winning 11 Tony awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The show has just begun its UK run in London's Victoria Palace Theatre.

Image credit: Joan Marcus

Chance the Rapper is a Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer from Chicago, Illinois, best known for his albums Acid Rap (2013)and Colouring Book (2016).

Mavis says: "I love Chance; you know his music is more gospel, his music is very churchy. I tried to get him on my latest album!

"He’s so positive; you know, we have a Governor now that does nothing for the school children in Chicago and this kid Chance puts his money where his mouth is. He had a meeting with the Governor, and he came out of the meeting shaking his head like ‘no, it just didn’t happen,’ then the next couple of days he comes donating a million dollars to the school, so the kids can go to school and have lunch."

Chance the Rapper makes his music available for free on Soundcloud. Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Firefly.

Hidden Figures (2016) tells the story of the black women of NASA who were instrumental in the early days of the Space Race, despite dealing with segregation and racism from their white co-workers.

Mavis says: "It's a very uplifting film. Until I saw the movie, ‘til anybody saw it, none of us knew that there was a black woman who was so smart that she was helping the astronauts. And that character, played by Taraji P. Henson, is really worth seeing. She's great."

Her favourite part? "Everyone at NASA is waiting for John Glenn, the astronaut, to go up in the spacecraft, you know? He came in and told them he wasn't going - 'I am not going until I see that she is here, and she says so,' and that was the black girl. It's gonna blow your mind."