This is to let you know that we’ll be taking a break from blogging to catch up with our regular lives from August 13 till September 5–that, we’ll be back the day after Labor Day.
This is a good time to read through our archive (just read backwards), and, more importantly, like our Facebook Page, and follow our various Twitter accounts: Sean, Sophia, Neelika, Brett, Tom, Boima, Loren, Dan, Dylan, Sonja (we’re hoping she’ll come back someday and blog again) and Herman (who should blog more).
Liberian Hipco music culture–”Liberia’s version of hip-hop, the ‘co’ is short for colloquial or Liberian English”–in pictures. The full set via Al Jazeera English). (Separately we’ve blogged about Hipco here.)
* Meanwhile, in Senegal: Life President Abdoulaye Wade must wish rap never made it to Senegal. From the BBC here and here.
* Talking of protests, Britain’s been on fire this last week. Here follows, courtesy of my man Peter Dwyer (his Facebook feed was gold this week), some snapshots from the violence and its meaning (the short of it: it is not “a riot” nor entirely an insurrection): Jacobin on looting; Gabriel Gbadamosi, in Granta; Seamus Milne, young people 3 weeks ago after 13 London youth clubs were close predicting “There’ll be riots“; even Nick Clegg (serious) predicted it last year; “a very decent analysis” from Australia; a man on the street and from Russia Today; ; Mark Steel; Tariq Ali; Nina Power; London’s Mayor Boris Johnson gets put on blast; and of course, finally, that viral BBC “interview” with the “old West Indian Negro.”
* I would also recommend going back and looking at Liz Johnson-Artur’s photo archive of black Londoners.
* The latest issue of Middle Eastern hipster art magazine, Bidoun, is out and the focus is the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Some of the articles are online.
Since we’ll be on break for a minute (details tomorrow) when the following central African countries celebrate their independence days, let’s do a quick roundup for Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, and Gabon.
August 13, The Central African Republic is the home of Deep House DJ Boddhi Satva, who we talked about here before.
Easy listening. ‘Bassa’ is a song by the Côte d’Ivoire-born, Mali-raised and now France-based artist Fatoumate Diawara. We could use a translation — because maybe it’s no easy listening at all. Anyone?
What’s Up Africa describes itself as “Europe’s first video blog focused on Africa.” Produced in the Netherlands by lawyer-turned-broadcaster Ikenna Azuike, it is slowly building an audience, bringing us “… what’s hip, creative and making the news in Africa.” 26 episodes later this is the place where the new land grab by European firms of African agricultural land is described as ”buying 10 Hollands,” he skewers leaders like life presidents like Yoweri Museveni, does sketches (since episode 3) and also Ikenna recruits his parents to do silly things on camera. Questlove from The Roots, a fan, has raved on Twitter that “a star is born.” (The right kind of celebrity endorsement always helps.) Anyway, I really enjoy the show, not least because we appear to mostly read the same sources (he shouted us out here), but also also because of Ikenna’s incisive commentary on media and cultural politics delivered with irreverence and humor. Ikenna agreed to answer some questions for AIAC.
Where did the idea for What’s Up Africa [hereafter WUA] come from?
I got the idea to start WUA after watching US video blogger Ray William Johnson, he’s my inspiration for the style of the videos. I’d go as far as to say he’s defined an entire new media genre. As for the content of my show, I was inspired by one of my comedy heroes Jon Stewart of The Daily Show. I knew about lots of great blogs sharing news about cool stuff going on in Africa but couldn’t find anything offering video content or Daily Show style news satire, so I decided to start myself. I love raising the profile of African creative talent with a wider and international audience. It‘s great for those artists and it’s fantastic for “brand Africa”. But, WUA is not just about pointing out good stuff I use my show to be critical about serious issues, comedy is undoubtedly a powerful tool to change people’s attitudes.
By Dan Moshenberg
Tuesday, August 9, 2011, was the annual celebration, in South Africa, of National Women’s Day. This public holiday commemorates August 9, 1956, the women’s march on the Union Buildings in Pretoria, in protest of the infamous pass laws. That day 20,000 or so women famously, and heroically, chanted, shouted, screamed: “Wathint’Abafazi Wathint’imbokodo!”. Translation: “Now you have touched the women, you have struck a rock!”
That was 55 years ago.
On Tuesday morning in South Africa (I am visiting here this week), the morning news talk shows, such as Morning Live on SABC2, celebrated with song, dance, some discussion. Women, and men, challenged the nation to do more, to do better. It was both festive and moving.
At the same time, there was a silence at the center and heart of the celebrations.
There’s still time left to recognize Chad’s Independence Day today, and keeping with our regular feature, we’re posting popular music from the country.
First up is a short clip of Mounira Mitchala, handling a live show in Paris:
French-Cameroonian rapper Lalcko released a strong record earlier this year: ‘L’eau lave mais l’argent rend propre.’ Ever seen this video he recorded ‘between Yaoundé and Douala’ for his 2007 track ‘Lumumba’? It’s dedicated “to all my Lumumbas born of aggression and cemented by the fight.”
Photographer Glenna Gordon, no stranger to AIAC, is working on a new project in Staten Island, home to the largest population of Liberians outside of Liberia. I asked her if I could publish some of the work here. You can view the full set here. She also sent this note:
Most New Yorkers still think of Staten Island as working class Italian, but mainly due to the huge influx of West Africans from Liberia, Guinea, Ivory Coast and elsewhere, the black population of Staten Island has grown by 12 percent in the last decade. It’s hard to say how many Liberians and others live in Staten Island since many people haven’t sorted their immigration status. But there are plenty-o. I’m now splitting my time between New York and West Africa, and I’ve started a new photo project on Staten Island. I first went out there for a visit in mid-April. I attended a meeting of the Staten Island Liberian Community Association, which was a mix of formalities, community news, and a very loud argument between two old ma conducted in rapid fire Liberian English. I was invited to come back and photograph a special mother’s day program a couple of weeks later. And that’s how I found myself riding a white stretch limo around Staten Island on a Saturday night with a group of old Liberian ladies dressed in their fanciest lapa. I’m excited about working in New York for a change, and where this project might go.
Collaborations between American and West African, specifically Malian, musicians are nothing new (see below). But, Adam Klein, a successful American folk musician from Georgia who has a long association with Mali (the locals call him by the name Lassine Kouyate) plans that and more: Klein is working on an album with Malian musicians that will do three things that together will present a new departure in these kinds of collaborations: that is blend “… rustic acoustic Mande music with American roots music,” records the music in Mali and plans to perform an entire record of original songs “in Bambara with traditional instrumentation.” He is also making a documentary film. I sent Klein some questions about the project.
Can you tell us more about the project?
I travelled to Mali in early 2010 to record an album of original songs in the Mande style, sung in Bambara, accompanied by traditional Malian and West African instrumentation such as kora, ngoni, calabash, tama (talking drum), djembe, and more. I also brought filmmaker Jason Miller of Eikon Productions (LA via Georgia). Jason shot a making-of-the-record documentary film which includes footage of the recording sessions, footage from the village in which I served with Peace Corps [years before], glimpses into the lives of some of my close Malian friends, shots from the Festival sur le Niger in Segou, as well as interviews with various folks about Malian life, culture, and development. The main three narrative strands of the as-yet-unfinished and unnamed film include the making of the album, learning about the lives of Malians through my friends’ stories, and my personal struggle to remain connected with and supporting my Malian friends and community from afar. The album has not yet been released as I’ve intended to put it out packaged together with the film. It remains to be seen whether the film will be a 25-35 minute short or a tv-hour length piece.
