Gyptian- Bad Minded People

...a classic sound...

Mama Africa

The World is a Ghetto

Hidden behind the zinc fences of your favorite tourist destinations...

 Manila, Philippines

Soweto, South Africa

 

Kingston, Jamaica 

Dharavi slum, Mumbai

 

São Paulo, Brazil 

Caracas, Venezuela

 

Lima, Peru

Kenya

Jakarta, Indonesia

Unda Mi Sleng Teng

The most recycled riddim in reggae history...


If you listen to reggae, you've had to hear the sleng teng riddim sampled by artists young and old... Had a good time with these mixes this morning :)

Teddy Afro- Lambadina

I-Octane- Lose a Friend

Rockers...It's Dangerous

One of my favorites... If you like The Harder They Come, you will love Rockers... A great collection of Jamaican actors and artists caught on film including Gregory Isaacs, Inner Circle, Burning Spear, the Maytones, Jacob Miller, Big Youth and many other legends...

Hilarious...

Classic clip from CB4...

Life We Living...

Many people have their objections of Vybz Kartel and his oftentimes provocative music and lifestyle, but 'Life We Living' is nonetheless a peek into the reality of many Jamaicans. The message in this song, of course, crosses all borders...

AfricanMoussou

 Check out this Blog by my dear friend Nana.

It is a wonderful page full of images of beautiful African women worldwide. Enjoy!

AfricanMoussou.blogspot.com

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It's not everyday that we see such beautiful images of Love. Skye Edwards has some of the most beautiful music videos.

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K'NAAN- T.I.A

from the Troubadour Album



K'naan definitely stands alone as an artist dedicated to storytelling. A true talent, his music gives a fresh look into the the beautiful struggle of African people on the continent [and elsewhere].

African Women of Revolution

Ghana
Yaa Asantewaa was an Ashanti queen who led resistance to the colonization of Ghana by the British. She succeeded in the short run, but the Ashanti were heavily outgunned. One of her most famous quotes states: "If you the men of Ashanti will not go forward, then we will. We the women will. I shall call upon you my fellow women. We will fight the white men. We will fight until the last of us falls in the battlefield."

East Africa 
[borrowed from "Shamanic priestesses of East Africa"]
The legend of Queen Nyabingi [spelled several ways] began with an amazon queen named Kitami, who possessed a sacred drum. Later generations revered her as a powerful ancestor and she spoke through priestesses called Bagirwa. Most of them were were traditional healers, chosen by Nyabingi as her prophets...

Muhumusa appears in the early 1900s as a widowed Rwandan queen mother who fled with the heir to the throne into Ndorwa, in what is now SW Uganda. She was a chief who refused to acknowledge the usurper mwame Musinga, who was allied with the German colonials. In 1911 Muhumusa proclaimed “she would drive out the Europeans” and “that the bullets of the Wazungu would turn to water against her.” She roused a military resistance which was stamped out within months, and she spent the rest of her life under detention, first by the Germans and then at the behest of the British (1912-1945).

Muhumusa became the first in a line of rebel priestesses fighting colonial domination in the name of Nyabingi. The British passed their 1912 Witchcraft Act in direct response to the political effectiveness of this spiritually-based resistance movement. 


Note: The Nyabingi movement of the 1930s inspired the Rastafarians in Jamaica. They adopted Queen Nyabingi as a spirit of liberation, and The Order of Nyabingi became an important touchstone in Rasta culture. Drumming and chanting Nyabingi took on the meaning of overcoming oppression and destroying those who committed injustice.

Jamaica 
Nanny of the Maroons was born in Ghana, and folk history says that she came to Jamaica with the express purpose of becoming a high priestess and leader of her people, never having been a slave. She was an obeah-woman who led the eastern Maroons based in Moreton, and forged an alliance with another group led by Cudjoe.

Nigeria
"The War of the Women"

The Aba rebellion in southeastern Nigeria grew out of a traditional female rite of the Igbo. People were outraged at the colonial government's plan to tax women, "the trees that bear fruit." In protest, Ibo women bound their heads with ferns, painted their faces with ash, put on loincloths and carried sacred sticks with palm frond wreaths.
The Ibo women's councils mobilized demonstrations in three provinces, turning out over 2,000,000 protesters...women protestors burned down the hated British "Native Courts" and cut telegraph wires, throwing officials into panic. The colonials fired on the female protesters, killing more than fifty and wounding more. Marches continued sporadically into 1930. These mass actions became known as the Aba Rebellion of 1929, or The War of the Women. It was one of the most significant anti-colonial revolts in Africa of that day. [from "African Warrior Women"]


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Today, as we celebrate the birthday of one of the most profound African intellectuals in history, Malcolm X, we must always remember to think about the importance of family and women in the Black community. Now, it is my argument that the true revolutionaries are murdered because they know and respect the importance of the African woman in society. I am not claiming that every man murdered in the name of his cause respected women, but one must find it in their soul to recognize those men who truly believed in the liberation of African people worldwide and knew the importance of women in their societies. You will find that many movements, put too much emphasis on the man as head and the women taking on secretarial roles, but in all reality, if you are to have a drastic change in the function of society, you must acknowledge the power that the African woman has and let her light shine on African progress.

Quotes by Great Men About the Importance of Women

Today, the women of the world are not content only to live as housewives. In most countries they are striving harder and harder for higher education so that they may participate in the civic duties of their community and nation. In time of war, women like men, have served their country and some of them have fought side by side with the men against the enemy." ["Education of Women"- H.I.M. Haile Selassie I-Ethiopia]

“I can hear the roar of women's silence.” [Thomas Sankara- Burkina Faso]

"If you are in a country that is progressive, the woman is progressive. If you're in a country that reflects the consciousness toward the importance of education, it's because the woman is aware of the importance of education. But in every backward country you'll find the women are backward, and in every country where education is not stressed its because the women don't have education." [from "Women..."- Malcolm X]

"… there were even matriarchal societies where women were the most important element.  On the Bijagos Islands they had queens. They were not queens because they were the daughters of kings. They had queens succeeding queens.  The religious leaders were women too..." [Amilcar Cabral- Guinea Bissau]

Summer Readings: Women of the Black Diaspora

These few books tackle the evolution of Black [African descended] women in societies worldwide. Hopefully, through these stories, fiction and nonfiction, there can be a better understanding of common trends and struggles of Black people throughout the world.
I compiled this small list of books from my own personal collection and from the suggestions of Nana B.

Kehinde by Buchi Emecheta [Nigeria]

The story of a Nigerian family living in London who decide to move back to Nigeria after living abroad for almost 16 years. Kehinde, the main character, soon finds herself in a state of desperation and heartbreak due to the events following the move, and decides to follow her own path through the guidance of her chi.

 
The Weave of My Life by Urmila Pawar [India] 

Pawar is a activist who writes about her own experiences with caste discrimination in India and how she discovered the power in writing about the everyday struggles of the Dalit [or Untouchables].

 

Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence by Doris Pilkingon 

[Australia]

The book is a personal account of an Indigenous Australian family's experiences as members of the "Stolen Generation", which was caused by the forced removal of mixed-caste children from their families during the early 20th century. It tells the story of three Aboriginal girls: Molly (the author's mother), Daisy (Molly's sister) and their cousin Gracie, who escape from a government settlement in 1931 and trek over 1,600 kilometres home by following the rabbit-proof fence, a massive pest-exclusion fence which crossed Western Australia from north to south. 

 
Wench by Dolen Perkins-Valdez [of Tennessee, USA]

The story takes place in an 1853 Ohio Tawawa Springs vacation resort [located at present day Wilberforce University] which serves as a destination for a group of the slave-mistresses and their masters.  The novel delves into the relationships between the women and their masters, and each other.

 
Nervous Condition by by Tsitsi Dangarembga [Zimbabwe]

The story of young Shona girl living in a small village who struggles to break free from poverty and acquire an education, in a world where she is expected to do otherwise.

 
The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips 
 [of Georgia, USA]

A young girl struggles with her identity in the racist mid-20th century South, while coping with the constant abuse from her "passing-for-white" mother who stops at nothing to fulfill her own selfish fantasies [mostly at the expense of her children].

 

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Just Something to Think About...

Compare and Contrast...

30 Years of Independence: Zimbabwe

As Zimbabwe goes into its 30th year of Independence, there is a need to acknowledge the accomplishments of Zimbabwe under the rule of Robert Mugabe, but there are so many things that the country needs to deal with before celebration. The Zimbabwe has a rich history and the people of Zimbabwe have struggled for far too long. Robert Mugabe came into power 30 years ago and many are hoping that he will give up his powers. While Mugabe has sometimes made the wrong decisions for his people, we must always remember what sacrifices he has made for Blacks in this country. Many of his actions have caused sanctions and criticism from the West, but in order to understand the state of Zimbabwe today, we must remember all of the other African leaders who do nothing for their people, yet are best friends with the West and International Aid Organizations.

Nonetheless, we celebrate today for all of those Africans in [former Rhodesia] who sacrificed everything so that their children could live free from the colonial rule of Great Britain.  This day is just a reminder of what has been done, and what has to be done in Zimbabwe.






READ MORE:
BBC Timeline: Zimbabwe
The Toyi-Toyi of Southern Africa

OmegaD.

Mbira Dzavadzimu: "Voice of the Ancestors"

The Mbira has been used by the Shona people of Zimbabwe for thousands of years. Traditionally, the Mbira is used to facilitate communication with the ancestors. There are many names for the Mbira because it is used throughout African music but Mbira music is most popular in Zimbabwe.

I always enjoy finding the younger generation of African musicians utilizing the musical creations of their ancestors. I love this video by Tinashé, a rising talent originally from Zimbabwe, who gives us a beautiful love story with the help of the Mbira [a musical instrument consisting of a wooden board to which staggered metal keys have been attached].




More Info on the Mbira
Checkout Tinashé's Youtube page