I mentioned before that Vh1 in conjunction with the United Nations was producing a documentary on the bling and blood diamonds relationship. The documentary, “Bling’d: Blood, Diamonds, and Hip Hop”, “takes a look at the illegal diamond trade in Sierra Leone, West Africa and its connection with the hip hop culture, particularly how ‘bling’ played a role in the nation’s 11-year civil war.” While we’ve seen quite a few film projects about blood diamonds and Sierra Leone, it’s a wonder that the hip-hop angle has never really been explored in depth by a major film/television company; or did I just miss it? Either way the documentary features interviews with Paul Wall, Raekwon, Tego Caldron, Jadakiss, Big Daddy Kane, and Kanye West among others. Hopefully the documentary will expand beyond the war in Sierra Leone and show how the diamond trade exploits both the Africans who mine the diamonds and the African-Americans who aspire to own one. As Sierra Leonean rapper Chosan said “Don’t give up and keep shining, your heart’s worth more than a diamond”. The documentary premieres Thursday, Feb. 22. at 8pm on Vh1.
Africa’s Inconvenient Truth
When I heard Al Gore’s announcement that he will be producing Live Earth, a 24-hour concert held simultaneously across all 7 continents, I got to thinking about what part if any Africa(ns) play in the enormous eco-conscious global trend. With “An Inconvenient Truh” nominated for an Oscar, eco-trend features in both business and fashion magazines, and eco news and blog sites popping up everywhere, surely the trend seems to be here to stay. But as we Africans go about trying to deal with our societal issues, I can’t help but think that maybe we need to think about this issue as well.
I spent a good deal of my senior year in high-school in the Environmental Society (yeah, yeah, I’ve had many lives and some a bit nerdy), where myself and a group of students learned and taught about the necessity of caring for your environment. I remember some programs we ran seeming boring and redundant to me but I couldn’t pin-point why. While others became passionate about the whole “save mother earth” movement I started to wonder why I wasn’t so gung-ho about it. I certainly agreed with the efforts but i just didn’t understand why some people seem to take it soooo seriously. Later in life I came to understand that growing up in an African household we never saw the earth as something or someone separate from ourselves. It was part of our culture to respect your surroundings and live within the parameters of the environment you were in. You somewhat understood the need and uses of certain natural resources and you respected their place in your life. But I think we’ve gotten comfortable as time has gone by, and are now part of Africa’s environmental problem.
When my father visited Ghana recently after many years, he was shocked about how rampant littering was. He described how easily people threw plastic products on the ground, even when there was a trash receptacle available. In discussions we often chalked it up to lawlessness, but there might be a deeper concern. As Africans we’ve begun to assume that we innately subscribe to old cultural norms when our actions prove otherwise. Try to talk to an African about environmentalism and many times you’ll get a blank stare or a “whatever” response. But one thing that Silas Siakor proved is that our actions are causing our situation to get worse. Yes, we have big problems like corruption, famine, and drought, but those problems are also tied to how we treat our environment. It’s true we’re not any worse than any other communities, but the effects on our “problems” are worse. When we allow large corporations to drill for oil without any concern about environmental hazards we make things worse for ourselves, What’s the revenue from exports worth when it leaves us with more problems to spend the money on.
The Africa portion of the Live Earth concert will be held in…..wait for it……South Africa. Surprised? Anyway, here’s more information about the event:
LIVE EARTH
Live Earth – The Concert for a Climate in Crisis
July 7, 2007
“The global audience gathered for Live Earth, its ongoing actions, and the proceeds from the concerts, will form the foundation for a new, multi-year international initiative to combat the climate crisis led by The Alliance for Climate Protection and its Chair, Al Gore.
Concerts on all 7 continents:
• Shanghai
• Sydney
• Johannesburg
• London
• Brazil – TBD
• Japan – TBD
• United States – TBD
• Antarctica – TBD
100+ artists: Current and legendary artists across all genres performing multiple hits.
Confirmed performers:
• Pharrell
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Foo Fighters
• Snoop Dogg
• Lenny Kravitz
• Bon Jovi
• Paolo Nutini
• Sheryl Crow
• AFI
• Melissa Etheridge
• John Mayer
• Damien Rice
• Corinne Bailey Rae
• Duran Duran
• Snow Patrol
• John Legend
• Black Eyed Peas
• Akon
• Enrique Iglesias
• Fall Out Boy
• Maná
• Keane
• Kelly Clarkson
• Korn
• Faith Hill w/ Tim McGraw
• Bloc Party
More Converse RED collabos
Converse X (Product) Red X Nom De Guerre. On sale for $100 at Nom De Guerre
Converse X (Product) Red X Kicks Hawaii. $100. Available at St. Alfred and Kicks Hawaii.
Like the previous Converse RED sneakers up to 15 percent of profits of the sale of the sneakers will going directly to the (Product) Red Global Fund.
Via Complex
African Hip-Hop in LA
For all those in LA this week make sure you check out the Pan African Film Festival which opened on February 8th and will run unil February 19th. In it’s 15th year, the festival is the largest international black film festival in the United States. While you’re getting in all your African films make sure to check out two of my partners Saba Saba aka Krazy Native (Uganda), and Wanlov the Kubolor (Ghana) as they bring their versions of African hip-hop to the event. Check out the flyer:
I made it through! Fashion Week round-up
So, I survived another fashion week with very little scrapes and bruises. As usual the week was hectic. Here are my observations:
• Kofi-ism #1: Never tell a model she’s sweating. Models need to be complemented only. Whatever!
• Kofi-ism #2: The only people worse off than uninvited fashion guests are the photo and video people”.
• Kofi-ism #3: Fashion is going through a black out period. Black/African models, unless Baby Phat hires you , you’re f**ked.
• Kofi-ism #4: Fashion week is over run by spectators who have no purpose but to eat, drink and be merry. If you’re not working at fashion week, please stay home. You’re killing the vibe.
• Kofi-ism #5: The days of goodie bags are over. See #4 for the reason why.
• Kofi-ism #6: There are way too many shows going on in the week. They need to be consolidated and staged in closer proximity.
Highlights of the week included Diesel’s retro punk show (Fresh!), Doo Ri’s excellently crafted dresses (I need to learn to sew like yesterday!), and Jackie Rogers’ show at Scores (Yeah baby!)
On the last day , with the last once of energy left, I left Tommy Hilfiger and walked uptown to attend the Designers for Darfur event. While the event got mixed reviews by the press, I was content with the way it turned out. Malcolm Harris and Lydia Hearst took on a huge responsibility in trying to put together this event and I think they deserve credit for that. One of the problems with scheduling a show to close out fashion week is that most people are exhausted by the last day and just ready to put the week behind them. While there weren’t as many celebrities at the event, the event did make a statement though not a huge one. The clothing was great and the vibe was on point. Though it could have been better planned to guarantee certain people be involved, I don’t share the NY Post’s Danica Lo’s opinion that it was a failure. The Designers for Darfur event reflected the general theme of the whole fashion week. Not many big name celebrities or industry vets even at the big name designer shows, a whole bunch of fans getting in the way, and shows running late and too close together.
Tommy Hilfiger had a dope stage
Organizers: SaveDarfur.org, Steve Madden, Malcolm Harris, Lydia Hearst
Steve Madden interviewing with MTV
Turkish designer Rabia
Designers for Darfur banner
Designers for Darfur poster
1 AM. I’m exhausted!
Last week in African Style 2/3 – 2/9/07
• From child soldier to rock star.
• West African ‘Idol’ holds auditions.
• Business schools put Africa on the curriculum.
• ‘AFRICA UNITE’ to debut at New York African Film Festival
• Black History Month in Europe.
• The Impact of Immigrant Entrepreneurs.
• Whoopi Golberg, please come home to West Africa.
• Oprah’s 1-hour special about South Africa girls school experience.
• Mia Farrow travels to Africa for UNICEF
Vote for Wanlov
Back in 2004 I organized a party to celebrate the launch my Spring/Summer 2004 collection. The collection was based around the Nigerian singer/Afro-beat originator Fela Kuti, an innovative musician who dared to re-invent African song. My launch party, called “Redefining African Style”, featured some upcoming African musicians who I felt were creating a new sound which also re-defined what African music was today. One of those artists was a fellow Ghanaian Wanlov The Kubolor. While I hadn’t seem him perform before, I was a fan of his music and was honored to have him perform as a special guest. Wanlov’s performance was one of the highlights of the Redefining African Style party and still stands out in the minds of many attendees. Wanlov’s “Never Die”(produced by Kweku Ananse of Pidgen Music) is now a finalist in the International Songwriting Competition finals. The finalists were chosen out of almost 15,000 submissions from 88 countries worldwide. Read Wanlov’s recent interview in The African magazine and watch the video below to see him performing his song “In Ghana” wearing his “Bling is Dead” t-shirt at last years “Bling & Blood” concert. You’ll agree that the guy’s got skills. Vote for Wanlov, one of Africa’s upcoming young innovators.
Darfur at NY Fashion Week
So I finalized my Fashion Week schedule the other day and, while I won’t be showing my clothing line this season, I am excited about the shows I’ll be attending. The week will definitely be an exciting one, as I am scheduled to work with some wonderful mens and womens designers. One show that I’m looking forward to attending though is the Designers for Darfur show taking place on Friday February 9th. Designers For Darfur, was founded in 2007 by designer Malcolm Harris of Mal Sirrah and model Lydia Hearst-Shaw (One Model Management) in association with Fashion Television and Steve Madden, Inc. The event is aimed to raise funds and awareness on behalf of the Save Darfur Coalition. The organizers have gotten a exciting list of designers to create one complete ensemble in Red, Yellow, Green or Black (or any combination of these symbolic colors of Africa) to be featured in the fashion show at Roseland Ballroom. Confirmed participating designers are Chado Ralph Rucci , Steve Madden , Donna Karan , Catherine Malandrino , Rachel Roy, J. Mendel, Michael Kors, Naeem Kahn, Alice & Olivia, Carlos Miele, Joseph Abboud, Marc Bouwer, Nanette Lepore, Carmen Marc Valvo, and Mal Sirrah among others. And those are just the designers. Oprah Winfrey, Joss Stone, Roberto Cavalli, Kanye West, Mia Farrow, Maria Bello, Don Cheadle, and Russell Simmons, are scheduled to attend; but the big question is will George Clooney, a serious advocate for US intervention in Darfur, make an appearance? I’ll let you know. Kudos to the organizers for closing out the week on a good note.
Janet Jackson is African too
A collectors item?
via Fashion Cult
Trace: 10 years and Iman’s “I Am African” campaign
I recently picked up the 10-year anniversary issue for one of the most consistently inspiring magazines, Trace Magazine. For as long as I can remember, the editors at Trace have been putting out quality , insightful product, while reporting on unconventional people and places. One of Trace’s strongest points is in it’s ability to highlight style as it exists in different parts of the world. The magazine was one of the first publications which I found that represented Africa in a modern, stylish manner. It might have to do with the founder/editor Claude Grunitzky’s Togolese background or his understanding of what he calls “transculturalism”. He says, “Modern transculturalists are people who can move and learn and function by discovering and influencing cultures that are not their own”, and that has been the focus which has enamored the magazine to progressive people all over the world. They’ve been able to stay relevant for 10 years now and still keep their edge. In the publishing industry, that’s an enormous feat. The 10-year anniversary issue includes an interview with supermodel/entrepreneur Iman where she expands on her feelings about the “I Am African” campaign controversey. Congratulations guys on another inspiring issue.