Official trailer for Don Cheadale’s documentary Darfur Now.
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!)
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)
The REALLY simple celebrity life
As much as we hate to believe it, Africa is still the charity case of choice for celebrities looking to get public sympathy. Time and time again the African brand gives instant credibility and humanizes the privileged and their brand image. With every case in the news I am reminded of how much work we still have to do to get to a point where the African brand means more than charity. As serious as the work may be, humor is always welcome. (via AfricaBeat)
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?)
Vote to add Africa 2.0 panel to SXSW festival schedule
Over the past year and a half, I’ve come to love writing about African style and business issues and interacting with the many inspiring people and ideas which I’ve come across through this blog. In my experience, today’s technology has provided us with the most effective vehicles to communicate and has caused an acceleration of African ideas AND actions across borders and even hemispheres. In my first attempt at taking our online conversations offline, I’ve proposed a panel idea for the upcoming South by SouthWest (SXSW) Interactive Festival being held in Austin, Texas March 7-11 2008. The proposed panel, Africa 2.0: Affecting Change Using Technology, will discuss how blogs, social networks, digital media and mobile technology are being used by businesses and citizens — both African and foreign — to affect change in Africa. The group of panelists will discuss adoption of mobile technology, community activism online and offline, and digital media’s effect on African entertainment industry growth. The process of developing the final schedule for the festival relies on a public vote to decide which panels actually get added. Please take a moment to VOTE to add the Africa 2.0 panel to SXSW Interactive schedule. My panel seems to be the ONLY Africa-related panel idea for the interactive festival.
In related news, I am hoping to put together a panel/roundtable to be held in New York City sometime this fall. I’m looking to bring many of you together to discuss opportunities and experiences in African business. If anyone has any ideas or would like to suggest any sponsors please contact me. I’ll have soe more specific information soon. Now go VOTE for panel!!
Other panels which deserve your vote:
- Anastasia Goodstein (Ypulse.com) – What Teens Want — In a Game
- Clyde Smith (ProHipHop – Hip Hop Marketing & Business News) – From B2B Blog to Media/Event Empire
- Rohit Bhargava (Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide) – Business and blogging panels
- David Armano (Critical Mass) – From Long Tail to Fuzzy Tail
UNICEF: Mudfaced African children need your help!
If there was any doubt about how ineffective and out of touch old-world charity organizations have become when it comes to Africa(ns), here is an example. UNICEF Germany put time, effort and valuable resources into producing this recent ad campaign which “shows four German kids who appeal for solidarity with their contemporaries in Afrika”. In an attempt at drawing a familiarity between German and African children on the topic of education Jung von Matt/Alster – UNICEF’s ad agency – came up with the brilliant idea of showing typical German children with mud spread across their faces. Taglines for the ads include: “In Africa, many kids would be glad to worry about school”, “Some teachers suck. No teachers sucks even more”, “In Africa, kids don’t come to school late, but not at all”, and my personal favorite “I’m waiting for my last day in school, the children in Africa are still waiting for their first one”.
Needless to say, the ads have caused a lot of controversy. When “help” efforts like UNICEF’s and the eerily similar Giorgio Armani’s Kate Moss cover are so off mark, you know there is a serious need for African intervention at the planning stages. Someone tell these guys to give me a call before they embarrass themselves further and continue to lose money.
More coverage:
- Sokari and other Africans give comments
- Jennifer Brea breaks it down on The Guardian’s blog
- RADAR Magazine mocks the campaign
- Media Bistro asks WTF??!!
- alena Amusa tries to educate UNICEF
- UNICEF apologizes??? (not really).