COLOPHON: Do not attempt to adjust your monitor you have come to the right place. I am just continuing my search for a suitable theme for this site. Not overly thrilled with this one either, so I will be dusting off my rusty config skills to tweak it to suit.
Screenshot of Carol Pineau’s film “Kenyan Stories”
FILM: Kenya National Business Plan Competition. Carol Pineau’s work in progress film about 100 aspiring Kenyan entrepreneurs who get to pitch their business concept to a panel of sponsors before the 2007 elections and the fracas that followed. I am no fan of reality shows like “The Apprentice” which is how the story was shot/edited, but I suspect that presenting this story as an earnest documentary style wouldn’t generate much notice for the film either. [via Kenyan Pundit]
PHOTOGRAPHY: JR: Women are Heroes. Guerilla photographer has taken photographs of women in Kenya, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Brazil. He usually asks his subjects to make exaggerated/humorous facial expressions and shoots them up close with a wide angle lens. Hen then posts the images he has taken (often illegally) in the environments where his subjects can see them (as opposed to a gallery/museum). Most recently he has posted his images on the sides of homes in the Providencia favela of Rio de Janeiro. [via rion.nu]
Previously: Portrait of a Generation previously featured here.
Obama - Extra Golden feat. Opiyo Bilongo
MUSIC: Extra Golden: “Obama”. Kenyan-American Benga/Rock group pays tribute to a prominent American of Kenyan ancestry.
Stephanie McKay performs “Tell It Like It Is” live for the Darfur Olympics at BB King NYC
MUSIC: Stephanie McKay: Tell It Like It Is. Bronx native McKay’s new album has me digging back in the crates for that old soulful funk from the early to mid 70’s. Prediction: this will be one of the standout releases of 2008.
Tuesday August 26th 2008, 6:10 pm
Filed under: music
NYC in the summer is all about the embarrassment of riches that is free concerts and events. Seun Kuti was at Central Park, Salif Keita, Oliver Mtukudzi and Habib Koite played in Brooklyn. Big Daddy Kane and Slick Rick played nearby, and I am sure I missed a myriad of other events at other smaller venues. That is one of the reasons of the paucity of posts around here (that and the humidity-free sunny days we have been blessed with recently). A sample of Africa-related events this past week follows (photos mine):
Mahmoud Ahmed and the Either Orchestra at Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center Out of Doors
Extra Golden: Benga/soukous/rock hybrid sound with lyrics in Dholuo (as far as I can tell). The most popular was a song called “Obama”.
Mahmoud Ahmed: It would be impossible to reproduce an after hours club in 70’s swinging Addis on a stage outside Lincoln Center 30+ years after the fact. But the Either Orchestra filled in quite well (their horns were more big band than military/funk band). No matter, that soaring, soulful voice pretty much stands alone. Ahmed is a giant of African music.
Celebrity sighting: Liya Kebede in the audience.
Africa Day Parade in Harlem
Africa Day Parade
… was late in starting.
Tiny, but enthusiastic parade. There were promises from organizers of bigger things to come. I hope so, Africans here in the States are otherwise quite invisible.
Highlight: The Hamalali Wayunago Garifuna Dance group from Honduras. NYC (the Bronx) has the largest community of the Afro-Carib Garifunas anywhere.
Overheard along parade route: “What? African Parade? Not the African-American parade? (keeps walking down the street).
Evolution of cover image of of Grace Jones’ album “Island Life”
Like the image above, Grace Jones, the icon not the person, was a myth-making collaboration between Grace Jones the woman, and Jean-Paul Goude a French-born, New York-based illustrator, photographer, choreographer, costume designer, art director. Grace Jones (born Grace Mendoza in Jamaica) was a model and a budding disco singer, when she met Goude via Andy Warhol in the now legendary NYC downtown culture scene. In her live shows she was playing off her strong masculine features to present an androgynous, outrageous persona to the gay boys who were the mainstay of the disco scene of the time.
Together they built on the androgyny and played up the geometry/angularity of her masculine features (via hair and clothes) recalling the abstract forms on African masks that had so inspired European modern artists like Picasso. Jones and Goude also remixed all the cross-cultural influences (African-American, Puerto Rican, Jones’ own Jamaican background) coursing through the neighborhoods of New York. Add in Goude’s mentalspace and his personal obsession with the exotic/primitive/erotic aspects of African beauty filtered through his French sensiblities. Throw in the raw, sex and drug-fueled creativity/experimentation happening in New York at the time, sprinkle in the then new technology-driven music called New Wave. And unleash the whole mess in a cocktail of costume, props, fashion, performance, body movement, hair, video, music, attitude.
Grace Jones: Demolition Man, part of a performance art piece called “A One Man Show” from 1982
The results of this collaboration introduced a new post-modern archetype of the black woman in pop culture. It joined Josephine Baker, Lena Horne, the Supremes, icons who came before and Erykah Badu after. The image of Grace Jones was postmodern in how it fought sexual, racial, gender stereotypes and taboos by embracing and de-fanging them, postmodern in how it defiantly resisted any attempt at categorization since it was the dizzying combination of so many things.
I recently read the book “Jungle Fever” and came away impressed by Jean-Paul Goode’s groundbreaking art. But it was disturbing to read how he was so open in admitting his obsession with the exotic and erotic qualities of Black women and how much he let it drive his creative work. At best it was naive and presumptuous, at worst, racist. But really, artists are successful to the extent they make real what is going on inside their heads, making it both specific and universal, timely and timeless. In that respect Jean-Paul Goude was wildly successful, objectification of notwithstanding.
Jean-Paul Goude: Retrospective Those of us of a certain, cough, age must remember the surreal Chanel Egoiste ads.
Recently the songs of Mahmoud Ahmed (Ethiopiques Vol. 1) have been on heavy rotation here at casa forota. It is amazing that Ethiopia and Kenya are neighbors, but I know next to nothing about this amazing 3,000 year old culture. In fact, a straight line that runs through Isiolo and Lamu forms a cultural barrier for those, like me, who have a world view shaped by all south and west of that line.
In truth, that isolation is the result of the geography of Ethiopia (fortress-like highlands), but also a chauvinistic attitude towards outsider cultures, African or not. The results of this isolation can be seen in the Ethiopian music of a period that began in the 1960’s and ended in 1974, a time when the country’s capital was called “Swinging Addis”. Like all the youth of this time everywhere, Ethiopian musicians were influenced by rock, jazz and funk, even though their music is not quite recognizable as such. It is completely unique, completely Ethiopian: hypnotic, weird, soulful, passionate, irresistible. Until recently, modern Ethiopian music was for locals only consumption, although that is slowly changing thanks to the brilliant Ethiopiques series. Mulatu Astatque did receive some notoreity recently, when his music featured prominently in the Jim Jarmusch film “Broken Flowers”, and legends like Mahmoud Ahmed have been touring the west playing to more than just Habesha crowds.
Source: Francis Falcet in an excellent 2 part interview about the musical history of Ethiopia: part one part two
GO SEE: if you live in the NYC area, there will be a free concert at the Damrosch Park Bandshell near Lincoln Plaza featuring Mahmoud Ahmed, Alemayehu Eshete and Gétatchèw Mèkurya, details here.
BLK JKS: “Mzabalazo” live at Harriet’s Alter Ego in Brooklyn
Toyi toyi fight music meets indie rock. i STILL regret missing this live set when they played in the county of Kings back in April, looks like a magical music moment. Now someone just needs to tell me what “zabalaza” means. [via the BLK JKS blog]
GO SEE:: speaking of loud guitars, the 4th annual afro-punk festival kicks off on july 4th weekend, with film, music, art and skating at BAM, and Fort Greene park nearby.
GO SEE: Santogold is a huge deal here at casa forota; currently debating whether to brave the crush of hipsters and catch her live when she performs at Central Park Summerstage on 7/20.
screenshot from Jim Chuchu’s site
PHOTOGRAPHY: jim chuchu {photography}. Photographer, animator, musician Jim Chuchu’s photography site. [via Ntwiga]
MUSIC: Iwinyo Piny: Just A Band. Music and visuals by aforementioned Jim Chuchu who is also a member of JAB. Band member Dan posts on kenyananimation blog their thinking process in creating the video. He also discusses how JAB had a rough time pitching this video to Kenyan TV stations: one Program Manager responded that they couldn’t air it as it would alienate their viewers since it was 5 years ahead of its time. You know you are doing something right when you get a response like that. [kenyanimation blog link via paula callas].
screenshot of Ian van Coller’s photo essay, “Interior Relations”
PHOTOGRAPHY: Ian van Coller: Interior Relations (portraits of black South African domestic workers taken in the homes of their white employers).
FILM: Tropa de Elite (The Elite Squad). High concept: “City of God from the police perspective, but with more brutality and violence and less nuance”. Director Jose Padilha meant to shoot this story as a follow up to his acclaimed documentary “Bus 174″, but chose to fictionalize it based on interviews and a book by 2 ex-BOPE cops. Raises some serious moral questions about how to combat out of control urban crime in townships/favelas/slums that have been criminally ignored by governments. Showed (not so) recently at Tribeca film festival, not sure when it will get wide release.
Creole. The result of the collision of Africa and Europe. In music, that collision has created what John Ryle called the soundtrack of modernity, which links the Swedish middle-aged man who loves Miles Davis with the Japanese youth who wants to be a b-boy. The result of that collision along with the almighty dollar now form part of the DNA of this thing we call global culture.
Is it the need to reconcile the technological and the human, tradition vs. modernity, civilization vs. primitivism, the seemingly mutually exclusive past and present that gives the culture created by africans all over the diaspora its vitality (soul) and its universality? Whatever, but as the sampling of the media i have been consuming in the last couple of weeks shows, the results are always interesting.
Q (”Interviewer”): Do you consider yourself a painter or a Black painter?
A (Jean-Michel Basquiat): Oh, I use a lot of colors, not just black …. It’s more a Creole, you know … what I mean by Creole is that … it’s a mix of Africa and Europe … you know in much the same way an African in Haiti speaks French.
cover of “BEYOND DESIRE” exhibition catalog
Inherent in all desire is a measure of fantasy, which guides our eye and forms or deforms our image of the ‘other’. Here fashion is a superb gauge. It is accessible, driven by unlimited fantasy, free from any form of politically correct thinking, decorative and superficial, yet, at the same time, it is deeply rooted in our cultural and social subconscious. BEYOND DESIRE shows how two cultures can each adopt the visual language of the other as their own and how their respective longings are projected through fashion and clothing in their fantasy image of this ‘other’.
gnarls barkley: going on
the styling of this video is a kind of “DRUM/soweto” meets “london working class/punk” aesthetic. the look was actually inspired by an, um, inspired fashion spread created by brooklyn photographer clayton cubitt and stylist rene garza called lagos calling
there is an non-pixelated/cleaner version of the video here.
jorge ben: ponta de lanca africano
Jorge Ben drew from the sambas of the hillside slums of Rio de Janeiro and American rhythm and blues to create an original style. He created the most organic fusion of North and South American forms of African music. This affinity is being demonstrated again by the enormous popularity of rap music in the slums, and only in the slums, of Rio. Jorge Ben was also a highly original lyricist who combined street language with images drawn from African and Christian mythology and esoteric literature.
Arto Lindsay in liner notes for “Beleza Tropical”.
FILM: killer of sheep: charlie burnett’s debut full length feature (it was his MFA thesis submission at UCLA). raw, rambling, unstructured, filmed neorealismo style in watts in the 1970’s with mostly friends and acquaintances. it is one of the most nuanced portrayals of black american life anywhere on film. must see.
PHOTOGRAPHY: flickr set: hip hop culture. more hip hop “baby pictures” taken by ricky “mr. wiggles” flores in the bronx circa 1984. it all looked so innocent in those days before crack, NWA, bling and “puff daddy”. Correction: Ricky Flores and Mr. Wiggles are not the same person, per Mr. Flores himself (thanks!)
MUSIC: The Roots “Rising Up” ft. Wale & Chrisette Michelle. more go go flavored goodness. 23 year old olubowale “wale” folarin who reps DMV (DC, MD, VA) via Nigeria (parents) features on the first single from the roots new album “rising down” which drops 4/29.
MAGAZINES: shook magazine: possible successor to the late, great global underground music magazine straight no chaser, the passing of which is much lamented here at casa forota. shook even sports the same experimental (sometimes unreadable) typography/design style.
Friday April 11th 2008, 5:15 pm
Filed under: music
Santogold: L.E.S. Artistes eagerly awaiting “post-black”, MIA/Spank Rock pal santi white’s album when it drops later this month. pictures from the santogold/gnarls barkely show 4/10/08
WALE!!!: back in the go go Olubowale Akintimehin “wale” DC-raised son of nigerian immigrants rocks the live instrument, percussive flava of DC go go. one of rolling stone’s artists to watch
Brick & Lace: Love is Wicked soundtrack to my visit in kenya when i was there in early march. it was all over the radio and i all matatus in tao.
Ali Kiba: Nakusihi Mrembo edgier (american?) sounding bongo flava although with the same melodic, swa lyrical flow that i really like about tanzanian urban music.
Z Anto feat Pingu: Binti Kiziwi soundtrack of our mombasa trip. memorable as there was an ongoing conversation on what a binti kiziwi is amongst we who are kiswahili-challenged (clue: check out the video).
screenshot of landing page of hector mediavilla’s photo essay on ZoneZero web site
Stunning photo essay The Congolose Sape by hector mediavilla. back in the day, it was easy to spot a congolose man on the streets in nairobi. they were fashionable and elegant in a way we kenyans just weren’t. we loved to contrast them with the stereotype of the rich kikuyu farmer with muddy safari boots and suit jacket with the funky hems that turned inward, pockets bulging with papers and money.
i now know that their style was influenced by the sapeurs of congo brazzaville whose style, elegance and manners were then popularized in congo kinshasa and eventually all over east and central africa by papa wemba (and other congolese musicians) who sang about them and emulated their fashion sense.
from mediavilla’s statement:
Sape is French slang for “dressing with class”. The French often use the expression “il est bien sape” to talk about a sharp dressed man. The term “sapeur” is a new African word that refers to someone that is dressed with great elegance.
However, the Congolese sapeurs are not only concerned about elegance, but also with good manners, politeness and morality. Generally, they only dress up on weekends and special occasions. Designer brands of suits and accessories are a big deal to Sapeurs. Complete attire can cost up to 1500 euros, although ironically, many of them don have a job. To get the whole outfit that can get them the sought-after prestige can take several years. Most of them start up with suits borrowed from established sapeurs that initiate them in the secrets of the Sape.The Congolese Sape, except for very rare exceptions, is a man thing, which sometimes is inherited whereas most of the times is acquired by choice.
see also: brief history of les sapeurs on sapeur supreme papa wemba’s site. it shows how the sape style started out as imitation of parisian style and elegance and a desire to escape congo mentally and physically. it was driven underground and became a rebellious fashion expression by the youth in the 70’s in response to mobutu sese seko’s repressive “authenticity” decree that changed congo to zaire, rochereau to tabu ley and banned the wearing of imported/western clothing styles.
more:
photos: sapeure shot by liz johnson-artur in paris. here is the fader article [PDF], where johnson-artur’s images appeared.
documentary: today the sapeur perspective has evolved to more of a competitive, brand worshipping form of expression somewhat like the hip hop bling scene as highlighted by a 2003 documentary the importance of being elegant.
