With two singles in the #2 and #3 spots (Akon “Don’t Matter” and Gwen Stefani Featuring Akon “The Sweet Escape”), a new album, Konvicted, holding the #3 spot on the Billboard charts, and a starring role in a new Verizon commercial, Akon is hot right now. Now Senegal’s son graces the cover of the new Vibe Magazine which just hit my neighborhood newsstand. I’m not sure if this is the first time an African has made the cover of Vibe, but Akon’s cover is particularly significant to me because as an artist he continues to have appeal beyond genres and walk the fine line that Vibe has been so successful walking. Akon’s continued rise further convinces me of the growth of a new urban culture without the restrictions of race and origin. Not to say that the genre is color blind but where urban culture was primarily associated only with Black American culture before, the new urban culture seems to fall more in a gray area where race and origin aren’t the only determinant. A few weeks ago John Pasmore wrote on his Fast Company blog about the origins of the urban. The way things are going these days soon there might be a new definition of urban with new originators as reference points. Whether this new genre is a good or bad thing for black/African culture depends on your perspective, but one thing’s for sure, Akon and Vibe are attempting to shape that new definition right now.
Ghana: 50 years young
March 6th will mark the 50 year anniversary of Ghana’s independence. A lot can happen in 50 years, and a lot has happened in Ghana in the past 50 years. Besides the celebration of Ghana’s independence, I’ve been thinking about how many of us expect miracles when a country like Ghana has only had 50 years to catch up with the rest of the world. When you think about it, 50 years is not a long time especially if you are looking at the maturation of a nation. With that perspective in mind, I think we’re coming along. Here are some events and information sources to let you know what Ghana was, is, and could be:
• The official website of the Golden Jubilee
• Ghana at 50 Reflects on Dream of Nationhood – NPR’s recent broadcast on Ghana’s progression.
• Ghana: Celebrating 50 Years – AllAfrica.com story on celebrations
• Ghana’s Growth, Falling Poverty Rates, Could Raise Income Status in a Decade – The World Bank’s special section with research and data about Ghana’s progress
• The architect of Ghana’s independence – BBC’s profile of Kwame Nkrumah
• The Ghana Independence Day Calendar – Calendar by Ghanaian owned photo studio Stratford Studios in the UK. Procceds from the sale of the calendar will be donated to the Sickle Cell Society.
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• Back To My Roots – Photographer Stanley Lumax’s photo essay on his return to Ghana
• Ghana – A Portrait – Photographer Max Milligan’s coffee table book about his travels to Ghana
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Below are a list of events that are scheduled to take place in the New York area throughout the year. Updates will be available on www.myzongo.com
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March 6, 2007 (Independence Day):
• AfriPRO‘s Ghana celebration, Fusion215 located at 215 West 28th Street, NYC (btw. 7th & 8th Ave), NYC, from 6pm – until – African Professionals (AfriPRO) Network professional mixer and party as part of Ghana’s 50th Independence Day celebrations
• Press Conference and Cultural Display of Ghanaian artifacts and cultural symbols with their meanings
Venue: Ghana Mission, Second Floor or another location TBD
• A Night of Sweet independence @ Sweet Rhythm, 88 Seventh Avenue at Bleecker Street, NYC- New African Jazz vocalist Somi will appear at Sweet Rhythm and will dedicate the evening to independence and freedom. Reservations are recommended
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March 10, 2007:
• Awards Dinner Dance and Reception
Venue: Ghana Mission, Second Floor
Outstanding African Americans and Ghanaians will be recognized at this Awards Dinner for their economic and social contributions towards the development Ghana. There will be pomp and pageantry on Ghanaian styles and ethnic cuisine. Corporate sponsorship of this event will give your establishment the highest possible exposure in the community. A Special Commemorative Journal will be published with special messages from major sponsors. Sponsorship at the Premium Level will include pictures, images or articles the sponsors would like to include in the journal.
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• Ghana Independence Dance @ Gauchos Gym, Bronx, New York – BDN (Boogie Down Nima) & NCOGA (National Council of Ghanaian Associtions) INDEPENDENCE DANCE! ARTISTS: Reggie Rockstone, Wanlov The Kubolor, Bright of Bukbak, Papa She’ee, Rascalimo & more… DEEJAYS: Roni Ron, E-Love, Sam Q, Nasei & more… MCS: Flip & Rab “The International”. DO NOT FORGET: $10 off if you dress traditional. Visit www.bdnvision.org for more info.
March 18, 2007 (unconfirmed):
• Interfaith Service
Venue: Armenia Archdiocese Banquet Hall, 630 Second Avenue, NYC
There will be an interfaith service representing the three major faith organizations in Ghana – Traditional, Islamic and Christian. There will also be cultural displays prior to the service. This event is expected to attract a large audience with the greatest exposure because of the venue and its historic significance in New York.
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April 7, 2007(unconfirmed):
• Discussion on “Ghana @ 50, Past, Present and Future”
Venue: African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan (if available)
This event will be a collaborative effort with the African Studies departments from some of the universities in the city. There will be a panel of experts and we hope to have a special guest from Ghana such as a Minister or some other VIPs.
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May 2007 (confirmed):
• Ghana Film Festival
Venues: To Be Determined
We will be collaborating with the African Film Festival in New York City. The African Film Festival will be in Lincoln Center and then on to Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Before the event moves to BAM, there is a ’dark period’ of one week, and we will use this period to show some films produced and or directed by Ghanaians around the city. The film festival itself has intentions of showing a couple of Ghanaian films, so this is really a high profile media event.
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June 16, 2007 or Sunday June 17, 2006 (Unconfirmed) :
• Grand Parade in Harlem
The First ever Ghana Parade in New York City featuring floats showcasing the diversity of Ghanaian culture. There will be music with a mini-concert at the Harlem State Building Plaza at the end of the parade.
Parade Route: Seventh Avenue from 145th to 125th Street.
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Saturday July 7, 2006 (unconfirmed):
• Ghana Children’s Day
This is will be in the form of a workshop focusing on the children in our community. There will be highlights of some interesting stories about some of these children. There will also be a mentoring session.
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Saturday August 4 or 11, 2006:
• Annual Picnic and Concert
Venue: Orange County Fair Grounds (tentative)
The biggest event within the Ghanaian community anywhere in the world and we hope with the success of last year’s event, next year’s will exceed expectations. The biggest challenge is getting a place closer to the City. Currently, the estimated crowd is over 10,000.
Damon Dash goes to Ghana for the UN
For those wondering where Jay-Z’s former partner, Damon Dash, is these days, he’s been doing his part for the United Nations World Food Programme, which launched in April of 2006 to raise monies towards halving the number of hungry people in the world, particularly children, by 2015. A few months ago Dash and his family, including wife fashion designer Rachel Roy, took part in the CatWALK the World event held in Ghana. Dash joined Ozwald Boateng (Ghana/UK), Stoned Cherrie (South Africa), Tina Atimeo (Ghana), Deola Segoe (Nigeria), Kofi Ansah (Ghana), and Hiplife artists Tic-Tac and VIP for a day of fashion and world hunger awareness. While in Ghana, Dash also visited a place called Orphanage Africa. It’s weird seeing Dash involved in this type of event since for hip-hop heads like myself his image is more of a harsh Harlem businessman. Maybe marriage and the Rocafella split has calmed him down a bit. Either way it looks like the event was a success. Future CatWalk the World events are planned for Benin, Ethiopia, and Florida (USA). Check out a video of the event below.
This week in African Style 2/24 – 3/2/07
• Africa and the winds of globalisation part 1 and part 2.
• South Africa helping the American film industry reel in the money.
• Angelina Jolie travels to Africa to raise Darfur awareness.
• Reuters’ editor-in-chief outlines plans for Africa site.
• Ethiopia and the global antiterrorism campaign.
• New York’s Museum for African Art finds a home.
• Face of Africa modeling competition is cancelled.
• GE’s user-friendly healthcare concepts for Africa.
More Adidas Materials of World Africa
Here are some more detailed pictures of the Adidas Materials of the World Africa collection I mentioned before. It turns out there are quite a few pieces to chose from. I love it when a company like Adidas takes their time to develop solid African products. The collection is available online at Colette Paris’ We Sold Out store.
via Hypebeast
Simmons, DiCaprio and Africa empowerment
The publicity bout over the image of diamonds continued throughout both Oscar and All-Star weekends with both Russell Simmons and Leonardo DiCaprio doing their part to promote awareness of their initiatives addressing blood diamonds. Simmons recently launched his Green Initiative jewelry line in Beverly Hills, California with celebrities such as Sanaa Lathan, Eva Pigford, Serena Williams, Paris Hilton, and Rosario Dawson. If you remember the Green Initiative is set up to raise money for “the development and empowerment of the people and communities in Africa where diamonds are a natural resource.” The initiative is part of the Diamond Empowerment Fund “a non-profit international organization” which Simmons announced at his press conference a few months ago. While Simmons has been busy courting celebrities such as Beyonce with the Green Bracelet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou, Ryan Gosling and others promoted the Amnesty International and Global Witness campaign against gem mining in troubled areas of the world by wearing a red teardrop pin to the Oscars. The pins were later auctioned off to benefit the campaign.
I’ve been following the developments of the blood diamonds campaigns closely and have been seeing a convergence of thoughts from both sides of the debate. Initially there were two separate camps that were bent on proving the other wrong in the public eye. But as the months – and the initial hype – have passed, I’ve seen both sides resolve to push strategies which though different on the surface, can have similar results: Giving Africans more control over their resources. DiCaprio, Hounsou, Amnesty International, and Global Witness are working outside of the current system to bring about the change in business practices, while Simmons is trying to work within the system to reach a fairly similar goal. While I see working within the current system as a dangerous strategy, I’m eager to see how Simmons walks the tightrope of getting an industry that is bent on maintaining it’s stronghold to purge itself of a practice that has worked so well. Maybe as Amnesty International’s campaign continues to put pressure on the diamond manufacturers, Simmons’ job will become easier. Time will tell which strategy is most effective.
Djimon Housou to model Calvin Klein underwear
I usually don’t blog on weekends (gotta spend time with the family) but it’s Oscar weekend and I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t report this breaking news. In the lead up to tomorrow’s Academy Awards, Calvin Klein Inc. has announced that it will feature Oscar-nominated Djimon Hounsou in its Fall 2007 Calvin Klein Underwear advertising campaign. While modeling is not new territory for Hounsou, becoming the face of Calvin Klein underwear at this point in his stellar career is worth noting. Seen as a true American brand, Calvin Klein’s underwear campaigns have often been seen as risqué and trendsetting. As many of you will remember Hounsou was discovered by fashion designer/photographer Thierry Mugler and spent several years modeling before he burst onto the international scene in Janet Jackson’s video “Love Will Never Do (Without You)”. The Fall 2007 Calvin Klein Underwear campaign, which will be shot in late March or early April and will appear internationally in more than 20 countries in global print and outdoor advertising in the fall. The campaign involving Hounsou will coincide with the 25th anniversary of Calvin Klein Underwear and the launch of a new product Calvin Klein Steel. Whether or not Hounsou wins the Best Supporting Actor Oscar tomorrow night in his Ozwald Boateng suit, we’re guaranteed to be seeing a lot more of him this year.
This week in African Style 2/17 – 2/23/07
• “Black Gold”, African coffee documentary, to air on PBS.
• African countries ready themselves for the roll out of One Laptop Per Child initiative.
• Africa tops Mideast as US crude oil source.
• Akon teams up with Verizon for TV campaign.
• PRODUCT RED – In the black?
Jay-Z’s Rocawear South Africa ads
Whatever happened to Jay-Z’s Water For Life campaign? I thought there was supposed to be a documentary airing on MTV. Always the business-MAN, Jay seemed to have squeezed in a new ad campaign for Rocawear while he was in South Africa. You can’t miss the campaign which is splashed all over the first 20 or so pages of Vibe’s new issue. Here are some scans from the campaign. More scans at Stylemix. Trend Alert: Animal print is in.
Bling & Blood go primetime on Vh1
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.