Category: Music

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“Africa Rising” festival brings JAY-Z, Rihanna, Alek Wek to Nigeria & Washington DC

Friday was the kickoff for Nigeria-based media company THISDAY’s 3rd annual festival titled “Africa Rising”. The star-studded THISDAY Music and Fashion Festival at the THISDAY Dome in Abuja, Nigeria featured performances by Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Usher. The fashion portion of the festival featured models Naomi Campbell, Tyson Beckford, Alek Wek, Oluchi, and designers Chris Aire and Ozwald Boateng. The annual festival which is “focus on finding ‘sustainable solutions’ rather than the ‘problems’ facing Africa”, will be making it’s international debut with stops in Washington DC’s Kennedy Center on August 1 with Beyoncé and Seal as headliners, and in London on October 14. THISDAY has some 700 staff members in 38 offices across Nigeria. It also maintains a bureau in Washington DC, from which it provides news on Africa to a variety of global news organisations and agencies across all platforms- from online to broadcast.

“Right now the international community seems to be dealing with the symptoms not the problems of Africa. The symptoms are poverty and disease, but the problem is lack of social and physical infrastructure. This initiative is to highlight the need to focus sustainable solutions on the problems through massive investment in infrastructure and microfinance in order to rebuild Africa from the ground up. Europe is what it is today because after World War II the ‘Marshall Plan’ took hold. It did not deal with poverty, it focused on rebuilding Europe.” – said media mogul Nduka Obaigbena, THISDAY’s Editor-in-Chief.

The “Africa Rising” event “tour” reflects a rapidly growing trend in the Africa-focused aid sector: African’s creating products with a sustainability focus targeted to both African and international consumers. I’m eager to see what the attendance numbers are for the UK and US events.

more pics

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Africa 2.0 panel at SXSW Interactive 2008

Africa 2.0 SXSWA few months ago I asked for votes for a panel idea I had proposed for the upcoming South by SouthWest (SXSW) Interactive Festival. Well I’m happy to announce that with the support of many bloggers and readers, the Africa 2.0 panel has been chosen as part of the schedule for the upcoming SXSW Festival. Taking place on March 9, 2008, the Africa 2.0 panel will bring together a group of African professionals who are all using technology in innovative ways. The panelists for what might be the only Africa-focused panel during the festival will be:
• Erik Hersman (WhiteAfrican.com, AfriGadget.com)
• Uduak Oduok (Ladybrille.com)
• Nii Simmonds (Nubian Cheetah)
• Chosan (Silverstreetz Entertainment)

As the moderator, I will be leading a discussion on how technology is being used to affect change in Africa. The panelists will be discussing how technology factors into efforts in different industries including fashion, entertainment, finance, and marketing. For a perfect example of how technology can affect change in Africa, visit Ushahidi, a collaborative effort by African bloggers to report on the election-provoked crisis currently taking place in Kenya.

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African nominees for 2008 Grammy awards

Djin Djin - Angelique KidjoThe nominations for the 50th Grammy awards were announced recently. Below are the categories where talented Africans excelled and continued to influence popular culture. The awards will be presented in February 2008. Congratulations to all the nominees.
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance

  1. Everything РMichael Bubl̩
  2. Belief – John Mayer
  3. Dance Tonight – Paul McCartney
  4. Amazing – Seal
  5. What Goes Around…Comes Around – Justin Timberlake

Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals

  1. Steppin’ Out – Tony Bennett & Christina Aguilera
  2. Beautiful Liar РBeyonc̩ & Shakira
  3. Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On) – Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
  4. The Sweet Escape – Gwen Stefani & Akon
  5. Give It To Me – Timbaland Featuring Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake

Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals

  1. Same Girl – R. Kelly Featuring Usher
  2. Disrespectful – Chaka Khan Featuring Mary J. Blige
  3. Hate That I Love You – Rihanna Featuring Ne-Yo
  4. Baby – Angie Stone Featuring Betty Wright
  5. Bartender – T-Pain Featuring Akon

Best Contemporary R&B Album

  1. Konvicted – Akon
  2. Just Like You – Keyshia Cole
  3. Fantasia – Fantasia
  4. East Side Story – Emily King
  5. Because Of You – Ne-Yo

Best Rap/Sung Collaboration

  1. I Wanna Love You – Akon Featuring Snoop Dogg
  2. Kiss, Kiss – Chris Brown & T-Pain
  3. Let It Go – Keyshia Cole Featuring Missy Elliott & Lil’ Kim
  4. Umbrella – Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z
  5. Good Life – Kanye West Featuring T-Pain

Best Traditional World Music Album

  1. When The Soul Is Settled: Music Of Iraq – Rahim Al Haj With Souhail Kaspar
  2. From Mali To America – Cheick Hamala Diabate & Bob Carlin
  3. Live At Couleur Café – Konono Nº1
  4. African Spirit – Soweto Gospel Choir
  5. Singing For Life: Songs Of Hope, Healing, And HIV/AIDS In Uganda – Various Artists

Best Contemporary World Music Album

  1. C̩u РC̩u
  2. Gil Luminoso – Gilberto Gil
  3. Momento – Bebel Gilberto
  4. Djin Djin – Angelique Kidjo
  5. An Ancient Muse – Loreena McKennitt
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Annansi notes: Brangelina buys Ethiopia, Africom, MTV Africa awards begins, (RED)washing at Gap

  • Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie bought Ethiopia. (Not the African country itself, but the island which represents Ethiopia in Dubai’s island phenomenon The World)
  • American general seeks to play down fears over new Africa command. (Uhhh… sure. No worries.)
  • Africa’s nuclear hopes. (Could this be the solution to the electricity shortages?)
  • MTV begins Africa Music Awards (Viacom knows where the money is)
  • More (RED)washing at The Gap (African charity still gets consumers in the retail door)
  • Gucci’s African charity Indy bag drops (holidays + African charity = $$$$)
  • India eyes Africa to meet rising energy needs (African’s need to refine and accelerate our business models)
  • First black (Nigerian) mayor elected in Ireland (A Nigerian Irish mayor. Wow!)
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Cultures collide: Souja Boy African Remix

So far I’ve been very successful at avoiding Soulja Boy‘s “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” song and video. While I always do my best to stay up to date on what is hot and not in pop culture, I find it hard to digest too much throwaway content. Call me judgmental but there’s only so much fast food a brain can take, especially at my age. But when I came across this African remix video of the popular Soulja Boy song, I was struck with the cultural implications. For me the video shown below, while being extremely funny, reflects how African culture, pop culture and technology have come to coexist and open up new avenue for self expression and creativity. We can easily dismiss the Naija (Nigerian) Boy Crank Dat video as another Youtube parody, but if we take a step back we can see that the ease of which the cultures are colliding in the song and video is something to take notice of. The Naija Boy video perfectly captures the way the new Afropolitans see themselves in their native culture and in western culture. From the reference to spraying money, to the dance scenes in traditional Nigerian outfits, to the scenes of the “rapper’s” white “fans”, the nature of the growing Afropolitan demographic is quite evident. While the Naija Boy video is entertaining, it certainly represents a shift in mentality among Africans in the west. The video is a lesson in cultural development as it shows what African youth in the west are willing to participate in and how they are willing to spend their money. (link via YG)

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Reggae star Lucky Dube killed in Johannesburg

Lucky DubeThe BBC reports , one of Africa’s most loved musicians, South African reggae star Lucky Dube, has died from gun shot wounds in Johannesburg. It’s a VERY sad day for world music.

He had been dropping his teenage son and daughter off in the suburb of Rosettenville on Thursday evening. Police say they were already out of the car when three shots were fired through a car window killing their father. Alongside Bob Marley, he was thought of as one of the great reggae artists – singing about social problems. He was also one of the apartheid regime’s most outspoken critics.

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After Gladwell’s Blink, Kenna’s new dilemma

Recently, MTVU, the university station of MTV, organized a visit by best selling author Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point, Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking) and Ethiopian-born American musician Kenna to a University of Pennsylvania sociology class. The class was in the process of studying the chapter “Kenna’s Dilemma” from Gladwell’s book Blink and the two men made an appearance to discuss the dilemma Kenna faces as an artist who, though heralded by many in the music industry as the next big thing, has yet to connect with a large enough fan base.

If you haven’t heard Kenna’s music yet, I encourage you to get familiar. Kenna, born Kenna Zemedkun, makes some of the most inspiring left of center music today. As a member of the Neptunes production duo’s (Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo) extended StarTrak family, Kenna’s sound is not what you’d expect pop music to be. Though his previous album New Sacred Cow, the subject of Gladwell’s chapter, had a creative video for the single “Freetime” and gained a 3 star review from Rolling Stone Magazine, it has not made Kenna the superstar he needs to be. Not one to be deterred, Kenna returns this time around with a new marketing strategy for his new cd Make Sure They See My Face. As with similar African-born western-raised artists such as K’Naan, Akon, Somi, and Chosan, Kenna’s comfort with balancing his African and western identities make his music uncategorizable for many. This time around though the combination of re-newed interest in ’80s-style music and fashion, the growth of the popular black nerd trend (Pharrell, Lupe Fiasco, Kanye West) as an alternative to the blinged out hip-hop stereotype, and Kenna’s own growth as an artist and business man, position’s Kenna and his music for better commercial success. Kenna’s image and music adds another dynamic to the growing Afropolitan demographic. As Kenna and the Afropolitan demographic grows more confident in his/her own identity they are exerting incresing influence on popular culture through their art. Hopefully the only dilemma Kenna will face this time around will be how to live with his celebrity. I’ll be watching his rise, and so should you.
NPR on Kenna’s career

Upcoming in-store appearances
CLEVELAND, OH
Tuesday Oct. 16th @ 4 PM-
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music
3466 Mayfield Rd.
Cleveland Heights
216.291.8605

ANN ARBOR, MI
Thursday Oct. 18th @ 4 PM
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music
612 E. Liberty Ann Arbor
734.668.7652

NEW YORK, NY
Monday Oct. 22nd @ 12 PM
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music (Wall Street)
100 Broadway
212.964.1988

BOSTON, MA
Tuesday Oct. 23rd @ 4 PM
Instore performance and signing
Borders Books & Music (Downtown Crossing)
10-24 School Street
617.557.7188

PHILADELPHIA, PA
Thursday Oct. 25th @ 1 PM
Instore performance and signing
FYE
100 S. Broad Street
215.496.8338

ATLANTA, GA
Monday Oct. 29th @ Time TBC
Instore performance and signing
Criminal Records
466 Mooreland Avenue, NE
404.215.9511

ORLANDO, FL
Tuesday Oct. 30th @ 3 PM
Instore performance and signing
Park Ave CDs
2916 Corrine Drive
407.447.PARK