I just got back from Russell Simmons’ press conference for his fact-finding mission to Africa (Mozambique, Botswana, South Africa). All I can say is Jim Jones?!!! WTF does he have to do with anything. More of my reaction later. In the mean time read up on the blood diamond controversy and hear what LA Weekly’s Nikki Finke has to say about the trip.
Nas shines on with diamonds video
With a new album nearing release, one of hip-hop’s elder statesmen and baddest lyricists, rhymes about blood diamonds. This video is for the track “Shine On ‘Em” from the Blood Diamond movie soundtrack which Nas is reported to have scored. Good work Nasir. Now you need to let a real Sierra Leonean in on the track. Kanye did.
Video of Russell Simmons’ African diamond trip
Hip-Hop mogul Russell Simmons touched down in South Africa on Monday without his rumored love interest supermodel Petra Nemcova and immediately released a statement about his fact-finding tour. “I am here because the most important and powerful Muslim minister and the most important and powerful Jewish Rabbi I have met in my lifetime – The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and Rabbi Marc Schnier – both, individually, told me to come here,” Simmons told AllHipHop.com in a statement. From South Africa Mr. Simmons traveled to Botswana and visited the Jwaneng Diamond Mine, the largest and richest diamond mine in the world by value, with Dr. Benjamin Chavis who is part of the fact finding mission. Upon returning to the United States, on December 5th Simmons is scheduled to hold a press conference at New York City’s Mandarin Oriental Hotel at 2 p.m. There, along with wife (or is it ex-wife) Kimora Lee Simmons, Scott Rauch (both co-owners of Simmons Jewelry Company a partnership with DeBeers) and Dr. Benjamin Chavis (co-chairman of Simmons’ Hip-Hop Summit Action Network), Simmons will “announce major historic initiatives pertaining to Africa and the diamond industry.” Let’s hope so. I’ve already expressed my initial opinion about the trip, but as always am hoping he proves me wrong.
Oprah talks Blood Diamonds December 4th
A few weeks a go, I got word that Oprah was going to tape a show on the Blood Diamond controversy. She had already done a show where she reunited a Sierra Leonean girl who, after suffering limb amputation at the hands of rebels, had not seen her family in years. Catching on to the growing controversy, director Ed Zwick and Leonardo DiCaprio, were invited to tape a Blood Diamond episode of the Oprah Winfrey show. Originally scheduled for December 6th, the day of the movie premiere and two days before the release, now the the Oprah special will air on Monday December 4th , the same day Russell Simmons is expected to conclude his fact-finding trip to Africa. Set your Tivos boys and girls.
Djimon Hounsou finds Blood Diamond in December
The word is Warner Bros. has finally set a December 15 release date for the highly anticipated movie ” Blood Diamond”. This comes as a surprise for me considering the pressure they’ve been getting from the Diamond industry about how the movie will hurt holiday sales of diamonds. The movie has been talked about for at least the past year, with people on all sides jockeying for position on the issue conflict diamonds. Though the movie stars Djimon Housou, one of my favorite actors, I’m skeptical about the portrayal of Africans. Having read an early script myself, I am not sure if the movie will do justice to the topic of conflict diamonds nor will it help the image of Africans in the public eye. At first reading the movie seems to be another attempt at hollywood to dumb down an important topic, but I’m reminded by a movie industry expert that scripts can be changed during production. By sticking to their original plans to release the movie during the holidays and not pushing it to the diamond industry proposed release date of January 2007, Warner Bros. is obviously confident about the star power – Leonardo Dicaprio plays the lead character – , pr controversy, and possible academy award nominations to push box office sales. The diamond industry in hopes of saving face have also got some star power of their own, partnering with Nelson Mandela to lend credibility to their efforts to change their business tactics. Despite my pessimism about the movie itself, I’m interested to see how this will play out in the coming months. Check back here for updates.
Can hip hop change Africa?
While many hip-hop fans in the US have started feeling that hip hop is dead, it’s becoming clearer that there is a totally different sentiment in other countries. A major reason for the pessimistic feeling of the US hip hop fans is the commercialization of hip hop culture and the preference for rap which, without the other hip hop elements (graffiti, breakdancing, dj-ing etc), loses all reference and meaning. Gone are the days when there was a balanced view of urban life through hip hop. As major media outlets have welcomed/accepted the art form many US artists have have become comfortable and have lost their focus. The hijacking of the rap element of hip-hop culture has resulted in corporations like Viacom (MTV, VH1) creating a rap culture which has no purpose and looks outside of itself for direction.
But take a trip to any major African country like Senegal and Kenya and you’ll find the music as it once was in the USA. Because of the newness of the music form to Africa and the growing accessibility of it, hip hop is now the voice of the new generation of Africans. What is amazing about the music is how the youth have begun to adapt and use it as a vehicle to change the world around them. More than an entertainment form hip hop is now the standard among young people and as they become more empowered, they put it in song. The accessibility of technologies like video, internet and mobile phones have provided them with the resources they need to connect to one another in real time and develop a unified voice. With all the problems that ail the continent the youth are attempting to make the much needed changes themselves.
I attended a forum last week at The Rotunda Gallery (Brooklyn, NY) put together by my friend Ben of Nomadic Wax records about this particular subject. The conversation was an excellent one with a panel featuring MC’s Chosan (Sierra Leone), Saba Saba aka Krazy Native (Uganda) and poet and activist Toni Blackman. What became evident through the discussion was that the African hip hop movement is a potent one which sees community and social issues as it’s focal point. African hip hop artists are taking the blueprint of US groups like Public Enemy, Eric B. and Rakim, and even Tupac Shakur mixing it with national pride and using it to push their community forward. A recent Reuters article discusses how Senegalese rappers have been able to influence government in the past. Whether by inspiring others or taking the reigns themselves, the artists are hopeful for a new Africa. But the question is will the art form survive the corporate and governmental assaults? I would hope so
Info:Spine Magazine
Diamonds are not Africa’s best friend
For the past year and a half the issue effort to stop the trade of conflict or blood diamonds has been kicked into overdrive. With mounting pressure from the UN and many humanitarian organizations especially Amnesty International, diamond manufacturers and retailers have been under severe pressure to clean up their act. Having lived off the sweat and blood of exploited miners for years, the issue was recently exposed when hip-hop artist Kanye West released “Diamonds from Sierra Leone” from his album Late Registration. With an intro from Sierra Leonean hip hop artist Chosan, the video was a powerful one which used images such as a woman’s hand turning to blood when her suitor placed an engagement ring on it.
With many grassroots organizations doing their part to force diamond manufacturers to stop making a profit off of wars in places like Sierra Leone and Liberia, the controversy is about to be thrust into the spotlight yet again with the December release of Warner Bros.’ “The Blood Diamond” starring Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic, The Aviator) and Djimon Hounsou (Amistad, The Island). While films such as Kareem Edouard’s Bling: Consequences and Repercussions do a good job on highlighting the diamond manufacturers’ reliance on consumer ignorance, “The Blood Diamond” is a fictional Hollywood-style movie which could either help or hurt the international effort to make DeBeers and others accountable. All reports, though, point to the movie glossing over the issue altogether. We’ll see in December.
Creating an African film experience
Chadian filmmaker Mahamat-Saleh Haroun is dedicated to his craft. Like many African born filmmakers he is intent of furthering the African experience through film. Using his country, Chad, as a backdrop he is currently at work on another film that puts a face on the people who experience the challenges of living on the continent. A recent Washington Post article talks about the lengths to which he and his crew are going to make his movie Dry Season authentic. To some extent his filmmaking style is more documentary than entertainment. His previous films Bye Bye Africa and Abouna similarly put a face on the 30-year Chadian civil war.
Mr. Haroun is one of many filmmakers who are creating great films without the support or existence of a native filmmaking industry. Besides the virtual nonexistence of a film community and ongoing political repression, many African filmmakers also face the challenge of seeking funding abroad with “many international donors viewing the arts as a luxury in times of food shortages, health crises and other emergencies”. Fueled by their travels and a new access to resources not available in their countries, more and more Africans are using their artistic vision to tell stories of Africa as they have experienced it. Last November in New York City, I got a chance to see one of the movies cited in the Post article, Hip Hop Colony, sweep the H20 (Hip-Hop Odyssey) International Film Festival Odyssey awards, winning the Best Feature Documentary award and the Heineken Emerging Filmmaker Award. Along with Bling: Consequences and Repercussions, Hip Hop Colony was a highlight at the festival, bringing Africa-themed films to the forefront. South African film Tsotsi’s win (Best Foreign Language Film of the Year) at February’s Academy Awards has given African film a new life and with more structure they will stand a better chance of getting funding and distribution to the world.
“Africa has such a terrible image,” said Issa Traoré de Brahima, a filmmaker from Burkina Faso who was working on the Chadian film. “And at the same time, we have so many talented people with artists’ souls. We just wish they didn’t have to leave the continent to earn a living. But in some places that is slowly changing.”
Darfur: Who needs the UN when you have MTV
Every so often African issues grow beyond the continent and makes it’s way into pop culture. In a capitalist society, social consciousness is a commodity and Africa’s problems are not exempt. As with Somalia (Black Hawk Down), and Sierra Leone (Diamonds from Sierra Leone) the problems in Darfur, Sudan has begun to hit the mass media. What has been a problem for years is peaking everyone’s interest. After Anna Nicole Smith and the Lakers, Darfur is becoming the latest trendy cause. First actor George Clooney speaks out and now everyone’s favorite peddlers of pop culture MTV, is playing it’s part in a way only they can, through a video game: Darfur is Dying. Could it be possible that a simple game of side and seek is enough to inform regular people about the situation at hand? With some questioning the rational behind creating such a game you can only imagine the impression “players” get of the situation and Africans as a whole. Forget guns and diplomacy, you too can save the Africans from themselves. Enjoy.