Friday 30 September 2016

...and it's the end of September


Goodbye September..


Its been fun..


Last of the summer sun.. and all is well..



The destruction of culture. Ft Kiss Daniel - Alone

So the destruction of culture is now a war crime? or is it just the destruction of inanimate cultural artifacts?


But when is war... not a crime against humanity?

Around the world people are crying out for the preservation of their culture in one way or another
The cries (directly or indirectly) include..
'You cannot ban FGM!'
'I want to retain my right to beat my wife! or stone those suspected of infidelity!'
'I eat what I want!'
'I wear what I want!'
'We don't want them in our country!'
'I want to preserve my right to appropriate any other culture'..
..or find ways to destroy another's culture simply by rendering it inferior..shhh'

Am I being unfair... perhaps.. perhaps not..

But considering the damage that has been done over the years regarding African culture/s; historically, psychologically, the rewriting of texts, the removal of precious stones, the removal of people, things we know... and the things we know not..
Why now?
Why was this act considered a war crime... out of all the war crimes that have been carried out..
Why this guy?

Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi at the ICC



It is true that cultures evolve.They live and are sustained through us.. our actions, our memory, our interactions, our way of life, but... for an African to destroy our African heritage sites... is a little like slapping one's own face
Yes, perhaps that was a crime of slapping one's own face
As I can think of far worse war crimes..

[Click - ICC ruling for Timbuktu destruction 'should be deterrent for others']




Good morning x

Friday 23 September 2016

Alaine - Hold a vibes

My favorite girl.
Ya hear?.




and wishing Rita Marley well [click]
...Icons..

TGIF - ft Selah - MH

Nice vid
...and Interesting lyrics as always from MH

Good morning! and TGIF x

Wednesday 21 September 2016

Does the AU 'diaspora division' really exist?

With very little 'known' discussion or representation with regards to the extreme violence, and in too many cases, the shooting of unarmed black African American men by American Law enforcement, one could not be entirely blamed for thinking the diaspora division of the AU...really doesn't exist.
Yet, apparently... it does.

Community leaders may call for an economic boycott, I understand the anger hurt and frustration. However, if the 'powers that be' believed that these communities possessed real economic clout...even political clout, It is very possible that the reoccurring incidents of such brutality would not be occurring.
Big fish swallow small fish
To big fish... small fish don't matter much

Small communities without a strong base...are like small fish
Even the current American President's African heritage is not enough to sway or remove negative racial perceptions and instill a sense of 'right doing'
No.. sometimes.. it takes a continent.
African leaders certainly have their hands full with issues on home soil ( some of their own making) but unfortunately, in truth, currently, they appear to offer very little to the diaspora.
Despite receiving millions per year in remittances, there is a stark imbalance.

The AU diaspora division have a duty to African Americans.. to all Africans across the diaspora..
But it appears that perhaps somebody missed that memo..
Or maybe the task is just too big..
Or.. maybe... it's just not considered important enough

THE DIASPORA DIVISION
Describes its aim/purpose as....


'The Diaspora Division is under the Directorate office of the Department, takes directives and instructions from the Directorate office of the Department. The African Diaspora refers to the communities throughout the world that are descended from the historic movement of peoples from Africa — predominantly from the Americas, Europe and the Middle East, among other areas around the globe.



With regard to all historic migrations (forced and voluntary), the African Union defined the African Diaspora as "[Consisting] of people of African origin living outside the continent, irrespective of their citizenship and nationality and who are willing to contribute to the development of the continent and the building of the African Union." Its constitutive act declares that it shall "invite and encourage the full participation of the African Diaspora as an important part of our continent, in the building of the African Union."

Thus the Diaspora Division serves as the focal point and hub for implementing the AU decision to invite and encourage the African Diaspora to participate in the building and development of the African Union. Its main task therefore, is to serve as a catalyst for rebuilding the global African family in the service of the development and integration agenda of the continent'. [click]


I wonder who the representative for African Americans is...

Cha.. just listen some afrohouse tonight

..Maybe one day they'll speak up.. then again.. perhaps they never will


Have a lovely evening x



Tuesday 20 September 2016

Brymo - Alajọ Ṣomolu

...from one great voice to another
Brymo's voice conjoures up so many images for me... tends to transport me - attaching itself somehow to the creative self, asking me questions that perhaps I don't yet have an answer to... or maybe I do, but suppress the answers until they can no longer be hidden
See... I told you... that's the Brymo effect


Good morning x

Monday 19 September 2016

Burna Boy – Pree Me &9ice – Olorunsogo

.. and getting ready for the week ahead
Good morning kings and queens gods and goddesses




Enjoyed this pretty song quite abit over the weekend. I suspect 9ice will always serve better as a musician than politician, with a voice like that..



Sunday 18 September 2016

Dexta Daps - Mi C Mi Bed n Miss U

Sunday Sunday
and some 'straight to the point as ever' Dexta Daps

Straight-raw-talent
I must admit to having developed a soft spot for Dexta, his melodies are usually very catchy, and it's not just anyone that can talk like this and not turn my stomach (so to speak)
Dexta. .. never turns my stomach.. must be the voice.
Sexy.
Good morning, and happy Sunday x


Friday 16 September 2016

Bye Bye Summer?

...hello rain

Really can't complain this year

Hackney Carnival 2016





Good morning x

Monday 12 September 2016

Saturday 10 September 2016

Emmerson Live in London - A Review

Firstly, huge respect to all the artists who performed at the Royal Regency last night. and secondly my apologies... it wasn't your fault.

**
It was the night. I'd held my ticket for weeks and finally the evening was upon me.


Feeing in Emmerson mode..


I wanted to arrive with the show in full swing so left fairly late, (or so I believed). On arrival, I could have been forgiven for thinking it was 4pm in the day as opposed to 10pm at night. Others were equally just arriving, the lights were bright, and handing in a simple ticket took far longer than average. My my initial thought on taking a glimpse of the hall was...who's getting married?.



I could barely believe what I was seeing. to my left was a photographers booth for those who wanted to capture the evening on a brown leather sofa equipped with 'cheesy background', and ahead of me was a stage surrounded by beautiful cabaret style tables and seating. I was directed upstairs, as I hadn't paid for a table, so upstairs I went, feeling slightly relieved.
It wasn't what I was expecting.



As the night progressed and I continued to observe the selfies the preening the walking the eating, little dancing and very little music to speak of, I began to wonder if anyone else had noticed that it was 12 pm, and no artist had yet arrived on stage.

Finally, one man was kind enough to apologize for the lateness over the mic and reassure us that it wouldn't be long. He was mistaken.
Hours later.. and I was feeling edgy.

I text a friend.
"I'm starting to wonder who to complain to"
"they're gonna look at you like you're white" she said
"huh? well if wanting things done right and keeping to time and they wanna think that then fine.."

she laughed
but all jokes aside, I knew what she meant.
the night was a night for Sierra Leonians.. to be Sierra Leonian, and clearly, for many, that takes time.
Now personally, I understand laid back, I can do laid back with ease, but if that was a 'Caribbean reggae night', that level of complacency lateness and tardiness really wouldn't have been tolerated without words, or some kind of uproar... trust me, someone would have threatened to tun' ova sometin' ...

I could see in the faces of a few people around me that they were becoming equally frustrated but there was also an air of docility about it.
They seemed to know something I didn't, perhaps that thing was... relax...that to complain would be futile...

I was pleased when the compare came on, but it turned out he wasn't actually the compare at all, but a man presented to us.. to introduce the compare/s for the night. With two compares both enjoying the stage, they then proceeded to take up far more time than was necessary.
It was 1pm.

Amidst much anticipation, the stage show began. The band warmed up nice, yet it was clear that the sound quality and engineering were below par.



The 1st artist up was Matto, who was passionate and loud, yet had a story to tell and I liked her. The poor mic quality made it difficult to make out the names of all the artists or what was being said, so forgive me if I leave out a few names. Alonzo was up next and performed well; nice songs in a nice reggae vibe ( with his little jerky movements :)




Then we had Sugar Lulu, nice steady but lacking a little energy last night. However, her songs were well received.



Alim Kamara was excellent, and is a very talented performer, but again let down by the extremely poor sound quality. He was accompanied by the singer Khalid, who has an amazing voice, and it's a credit to him that he was able to edge slightly above the poor sound





The next artist I wasn't expecting and could barely make out his name, but turns out it was Usifu Jalloh, and he could very well have been the star stand out performer of the night for me. loved him.
For the 1st time, I began to feel the root. We were getting beyond the superficial to something far more meaningful. He took us to Sierra Leone. The lights were dimmed slightly for him, which created an aura around his performance. Clearly an accomplished artist and performer and with a roll call of awards to his name, he gave the audience a treat, with his storytelling ability and musical rendition of the history of West African music. It was fun , funny, engaging, heartfelt, and a real treat.



However... it was 2am , and the crowd had just sat through 5 warm up acts with the lights still blazing and yet still... no Emmerson.
As much as I enjoyed his performance I was relieved when it was over,
Yet to my astonishment the wait was not yet over for us, as the compare/s decided to take a 10 minute interval.
..'to rarse'....
was the jist of a text to a friend

On completion of the Interval we were treated to the two compares again, but now they were in full 'shout' mode. With both of them talking at the same time it was pretty much impossible to make out what was being said in full. 'Is god alone saved them two from being pelted wid piece a yam am sure.'.

Finally, 'Sugar Medicine' came on, and boy, did we need it. The lights went out and I was on my feet.
We now had a stage show.

I could barely contain my joy, in fact I didn't, like everyone else. Handsome Emmerson has style and presence in abundance, but even the talents of Emmerson could not disguise the lack of prep from the band and the very inadequate sound quality.






The promoter had reduced Emmerson to occupy the role of a 'Wedding singer.

There is nothing wrong with wedding singers, but come on... did he not.. know Emmerson?

I love 'survivor' so was pleased for him to start with that. A few glaring errors in terms of chord changes but I was past caring too much by that time. Unfortunately little could have saved this show from receiving anything other than a bad review.

In talking to a few guys, i'm informed that the promoter made a loss. No surprises there if he did. 5 warm up acts, a huge venue, and not enough people to fill it. There were quite a few empty tables downstairs, and at £100 per ticket you can perhaps understand why.
One didn't have to be an accountant to see that unless the venue hire was free and the artists performed for free, he (or she) would more than likely be facing a loss.

Perhaps the promoter didn't feel that Emmerson and supporting acts would be enough to get Sierra Leonean's to come out. I'm sure he's aware that in the main, Salone people like to 'dress and bloff' so perhaps he felt he had to appeal to the vanity over and above the love of music. and if that's the case, that would be a shame.

It would be a shame because Emmerson is a great artist, and more than capable of reaching the heights of other well known West African artists, but his quest was not aided last night. He will need to be promoted as an artist of the highest caliber, alongside others in his genre. Whilst many Sierra Leonians may see Emmerson as a reflection or representation of them, and in many ways he is, but in more ways... he is so much more.
Ultimately he is an artist, a singer and composer. his songs carry a message of love hope change and of struggles against oppression and injustice, themes which are universal.

So to present him in that setting as the promoter did last night was an outrage.

Despite it all, I enjoyed the night. I know the potential of the artists are great indeed. Over zealous mic men are funny to watch, but I paid to see the artists.
mess wid mi artist dem an yu mess wid me
Regardless, I made friends, am determined to invest in a good camera!, had a laugh and a dance, and yes..
Emmerson 'Sugar Medicine' ..is still my No.1.





Masterkraft ft Da Unknown - Hello

Friday 9 September 2016

Masterkraft ft Ivlyn Mutua & Noel Nderitu - I'll go

Masterkraft really surprised me with this one. he is undoubtedly an extraordinary talent.
I listened to this intently, well mixed, lovely musicality, chord structures, and indeed words
Spiritual offering from the well known Nigerian afrobeat producer

Nice 1.
Goodmorning x


Friday 2 September 2016

Hello September. ft Rayce Ft. Davido - Wetin Dey [Remix]

Day after the big event. Mr Ti's BBQ Bash
...and boy did I cook, and if I do say so myself, I have definitely developed my catering and cooking abilities over the years.
Lots of work but he had an amazing day.
Beautiful weather and start of a new month.
Happy Birthday Ti :)

Checking out a few tracks today, it was nice to come across this offering from Rayce & Davido. Nice Afro beat/high life track with the vibe that I love. Despite checking out a few reggae tracks this one edged past for some reason to make the post today.
Sounds like a winner.
I can imagine Brymo on this, as his voice tends to annihilate these beats.. in a good way
Nice.
The video was directed by Mr. Moe Musa, whose directing and film making skills are fast becoming legendary.
Click [here]for bio

Just a thought. Whoever designed and has the patent to those red plastic cups must be a millionaire by now, as they are everywhere .... including my own kitchen.

Good afternoon x