We speak with journalist and music critic John Villanova, about the limitation of Black Excellence within the confines of Award shows.
John Vilanova is a third-year PhD student at the Annenberg School for Communication. His broad research and writing agenda focuses on the production, reception, and consumption of African American and Afro-diasporic music. His current research examines the contemporary Jamaican music industry, cultural industries development, and the coloniality of media systems and industrial organizations. John holds a master’s degree in American Studies from the University of Kansas and an undergraduate degree in English from the University of Pennsylvania. He is also an accomplished journalist who has contributed in various written and research capacities to a multitude of publications including Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly, The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, and Paste. He is a producer at Annenberg’s 3620 Podcast and the managing editor of MusiQology, the blog of esteemed music scholar Dr. Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr.