- 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!)
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)
Reggae star Lucky Dube killed in Johannesburg
The 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.
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
African family adopts Britney’s kids!, Slate.com
Slate posts a hilarious story on a Malawian family’s adoption of Britney Spears’ children. A must read!
“Los Angeles, where the Federline children have been living, is one of the richest cities in the world, trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of depravity, narcissism, and veganism. Nearly 27 percent of the children in Los Angeles suffer the misfortune of having celebrity parents. Mr. and Mrs. M were stunned by the deplorable conditions these victims live in. Children are subject to verbal abuse via cell phone, and babies are dangled over balcony railings. “Fathers kill mothers, and then put out badly written books about it,” Mr. M said. “And the names these children must bear,” said Mrs. M. “Apple, Fifi Trixibell, Fuchsia, Moxie CrimeFighter, Pilot Inspektor, Sage Moonblood—what kind of future can these poor children have?” – Slate.com
Thanks to Afromusing for the link.
Video: Sierra Leone’s Chosan on Kanye West’s Diamonds video and Africa as a celebrity cause
Annansi Notes: Fall Out Boy, Mandela, Clint Eastwood, African babies, Facebook in Kenya
- Fall Out Boy head to Africa….Uganda really (What’s a rock band’s image without an African charity connection. Shout out to director extraordinaire Alan Ferguson) )
- Clint Eastwood will direct Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon in a new Nelson Mandela movie “The Human Factor” (The Hollywood/Africa trend grows. They should expect a call from some concerned Africans real soon.)
- Facebook is the new office fashion in Kenya (Rupert Murdoch needs to get the Myspace/Wall Street Journal thing sorted out fast)
- Actress Mary-Louise Parker adopts a child from Africa (Can all these African childrens’ biological families get visitation visas now?)
Franco-Cameroonian sisters, Les Nubians, in Washington DC
If you’re in Washington DC this week check out these special performances by the Franco-Cameroonian sister duo, Les Nubians. If you’re not already familiar with Les Nubians here’s a short lesson.
In 1999 Les Nubians United States debut ‘Princesses Nubiennes’ (Higher Octave/Virgin) became the most successful French-language album in more than a decade of Billboard charts. Les Nubians appeared on fourteen different recordings by an assortment of other artists, spanning the globe and crossing genres-from Towa Tei, Black Eyed Peas and Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek to the acclaimed Fela Kuti tribute album from the Red Hot series,”Red, Hot and Riot”.
Show dates are:
- Wednesday July 18th at 10pm at LIV
- Thursday, July 19 with two shows at the historic Bohemian Caverns – 8:30pm and 10:30pm.
Tickets can be purchased online at: www.instantseats.com
Global Hip-hop in your city
Nomadic Wax, the crew behind the Democracy in Dakar video series, are taking their global hip-hop on a mini US tour. The Global Underground tour features international hip-hop pioneers Chosan (Sierra Leone), LF and Laylo (Brazil/Dominican Republic), Foundation Movement (Puerto Rico/Liberia), Zuluboy (South Africa), DJ Boo (Philippines) an accomplished group of percussionists including Ernesto Abreau (Antibalas/Ya Esta), Chauncey Yearwood (The Pimps of Joytime/Escort), and Nomadic Wax founder Ben Herson (Nomadic Wax/Escort/Subatomic Sound System). The tour launches at Galapagos Art Space on July 19th in Brooklyn, New York, and will visit clubs in Providence, Rhode Island on the 21st and Boston, MA on the 22nd. If you haven’t seen any of these acts perform yet, do yourself a favor and catch them when they roll into your city.
LAFF & African Film Commission hosts On the Rumba River
As part of the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival, the African Film Commission will present On The Rumba River (Le Batelier de la Rumba) a film Jacques Sarasin. I won’t be able to attend but, I encourage any of you who will be in LA this week to support us and catch this exciting documentary. Details below.
Synopsis:
Brimming with music and dance, On the Rumba River looks at the life and times of beloved Congolese musician Wendo Kolosoy. Throughout a career that spans decades, Papa Wendo has weathered personal hard times as well as Congo’s troubled political and economic history, all of which he’s faced with a combination of determination, humor and, of course, music. This touching and lively documentary captures Kolosoy’s latest reunion with his band, the Victoria Bakolo Miziki Players, when they gather to play the transcendent music that has come to embody the spirit of the Congolese people.
Screening Times:
Thu. Jun 28, 7:00pm, Mann Festival Theater
Sat. Jun 30, 5:00pm, Italian Cultural Institute
For event information and tickets, call 866.FILM.FEST (866.345.6337) or visit LAFilmFest.com