Christopher Okigbo

What I need most is a more intelligent audience, that's all.
-Christopher Okigbo-

We are Africans

L O U D E R!

A F R I C A N S

A W O O O O O O O O!

Proudly African y'all
in ya dis ya time y'all!

REMIX!


jus in case yu did not get it the first time around
Black Coffee no suga no cream
Awoooooooooo!

Proudly African!
In ya dis ya time!

Africa Fashion Week NY 2010

mmmmmh! am not much into fashion weeks or fashion shows or fashion fundi and whatnot
so i am not in the know or the buzz of how it works or who is how
but this def caught mah attention
cos i believe now there is the london africa fashion week taking place right now as we type
is all about showcasing african designers and all that jazz
so as i am checking out these videos I am like mmmmmmmh interesting
the people wearing those designs
they are not your typical string bean super skinny pale models
one is used to seeing on the catwalks, nah nah nah
these are your everyday people killing it on the runway in NY
the more i watch the more mmmmmmh i go
i cud not stop mmmmmmmmhing, i watched almost all the vids, waiting to catch them out
but no sir, this is the real deal, the real african swagga
this is Africa Fashion Week in NY done in the Africa Way

oh and another thing that i found veeeery interesting was
there is  this one design, a shirt actually, with the face of  President Obama
well, that is soooooooo African...

mad props to the designers, heads up to the producer and organisers
they really did it, i applaud them, that was brave and bold

but what i find curious is the the afro blogging world aint said shit about this
I mean with all the blogs dedicated to Africa by Africans mostly in the diaspora
and how they whine about how tired they are about the negative images
that the west is showing about africa
you would fink that this would mek them shout out with joy
especially since it was conceptualised and executed by a fellow african sistah and team
and what about dem african-americans who always have issues
with lighter skins getting more attention
here is something to celebrate and they are no where to be found shouting with joy
or maybe i missed out...
these are the things that mek me go
mmmmmmh mmh!
in ya dis ya time

Ancestral Voices: Esoteric African Knowledge

Looks to be interesting and thought provoking

This is essential for a true understanding of African Spirituality

that has been demonised and not given the deserved respect

Its time for a reawakening and spiritual cleansing

Tis good that it is available on DVD for purchase
so I can order mah copy asap
dont haffi wait for no festival screening or distribution whatnot
And besides, it looks to be something worth having in your home
and you can also check out what the directors of this timely documentary
haffi say about the film here
In ya dis ya time

Hamba Kahle MaSisulu - Albertina Nontsikelelo Sisulu

I grew up in Orlando West
on the corner of Sisulu Street and Pela Street

Mah granny's house was just opposite the clinic on the main road
so we would witness a lot of victims of police brutality [mostly bullets, dog bites and sjambok]
coming in and out of the clinic
and a lot of yutes would run for cover into our home to hide from the police
ma granny wud act so nonchalantly, let them, or rather help them hide, while the police came searching
i was a likkle kid then [back in the early eighties]
and i'd be playing on mah own while granny busy with the house hold chores
would be keepin an eye on  me
mah granny would either ignore dem police while searching the house lookin fo the yute
they would bully and harass mah granny but she would not burge
sumtimes she wud tell dem dat he'd jumped over the fence and continued
or she wud jus ignore dem until dem ah gone
then she wud let the yute out, i wud get him sum water, and  granny wud talk to him fo a while
try to find out if he was from the area and what his story was
if granny saw or sensed fire in the yute
she would eventually send him off to MaSisulu [Albertina Sisulu]


MaSisulu wud definately have an advise for the yute or sort him out in one way or the other
We all knew that. We all turned to MaSisulu for help/comfort/advise/spiritual guidance/assurance and everything else.
MaSisulu was like a mythical womam to me as i was growing up
I had never seen her live-in-action, even though i lived not far from her house
Just like her husband, her name was known and revered
you just never used her name like that in vain
when her name popped up, then yu kno the shit has hit the fan, its serious stuff
a lot of yutes used to disappear in those days
especially boys. they wud either go into exile by crossing the border into Swaziland or Botswana
or Lord knows where. or they wud be in police custody, or for the unlucky mothers, they would have already met their maker, and in most cases, they wud just disappear from the face of the earth
as a kid, i wud see the faces of the distressed mothers searching for their yutes
and they wud  be asked if they had been to see MaSisulu, or they wud come so
that mah granny wud accompany them to the Sisulu household
I had always revered MaSisulu, no words can truly describe what she had done for the Nation
and especially for the community she resided in
She and a group of other women opposed the Bantu education
and they started some sort of home schooling system
I am a product of those schools that operated outside of the Bantu education shitstem
even though our school was run by a church, [and survived till today, while others had to shut down]
still it was MaSisulu and others who set them into motion

she was already a mythical figure to me as i was growing up

even later in years, long after apartheid had been abolished, i would always 

have a certain kinda sensation running down mah back at the mention of her name

It was her daughter in-law who helped to de-mythisise and immortalise her for me
After reading: Walter and Albertina Sisulu: In Our lifetime
written by Elenor Sisulu, wife of Max Sisulu, eldest son of the Sisulus
I got to understand sum of the things that eluded me when I was a little gal
some pieces fell into place and the bigger picture was solidified
I understood the visuals, the images, phrases
embedded in me from mah childhood daze
I overstood then why mah granny used to send those boys off to MaSisulu
when i was a likkle gal, it was just protocol, it was the thing to do
to go to MaSisulu for help and advise and what not
I always had a hero, a mythical hero for that
and i did not just invent her, she was real, and her deeds were real, not cooked up
she was only mythical because i thought her to be
yet she was real, and did stuff that can only be described as myths
I am happy she lived to be 92 and see the fruits of her labour
and that she passed on in the company of her grandchildren

Downtown Johannesburg a statue of the Sisulus

she done gone joined her lovin husband in the land of the ancestors
I weep not for her, for I know that she will be recounting tales from the land of livin to her husband Walter Sisulu, as she had always done while Tata Sisulu was in prisonshe always kept him up to date, especially on the developement of their children so i imagine them now, sipping tea together and MaSisulu recounting her last days on earth to Tata Sisulu
they would be in good company too
Oliver Tambo Steve Biko Samora Machel Joe Slovo Chris Hani
Brother Malcom and Brother Gil Scott-Heron would also be there and many more
Hamba Kahle MaSisulu
May your soul rest
May your light continue to shine
May the ancestors give you a divine welcome
In ya dis ya time
All Africa dot com, has got a tight summary of the life and times of MaSisulu. check it here.

Go in Peace Brother - Gil Scott Heron

Some Gil Scott-Heron tributes ~
He was breaking Shit down by Adam Mansbach via The New Black Maganize
Godfather of a dangerous medium from the Mail & Guardian
Gil Scott was more than the Godfather of Rap by Earl Ofari Hutchinson via  The Grio
The brother, has done gone joined the ancestors
He will be in the company of other greats like hisself
FELA, Peter Tosh, Nina Simone, Brother Malcom, and many more
may his beautiful soul rest
and his light continue to shine thru his powerful lyrics/verses/message/music
he done his earthly duties
and may the ancestors welcome him divinely
in ya dis ya time

VIVA RIVA

viva riva is the talk of the town in these daze
and i ma dyin to see this movie
but being in italy, i doubt that i will be able to catch it in the near future
even though roma international film festival and venice film festival are still to come
roma fest is much more interested in bringing hollywood stars to the festival than programming
while the venice fest might just probably screen it
the movie will be released in the UK and the US
but i very much doubt that Italy will follow, we hope and wait and see
this movie has been getting a lot of mixed and rave reviews
a serious and engagin review here
and an interview with the director here

if i may, allow me to cut and paste one review/remark from a youtuber
that kinda like sums it up, tho you can see it from the trailer.

'Sex, sex, raunchy sex, porno sex, wanton killing, gruesome torture, 
a gangster obsessed with a lightskinned, red haired sex toy - sound exciting so far? 
Love of money, fast cars, the lifestyles of the rich and unscrupulous - I wish I stayed home'

still wanna see it
for other reasons tho,
for one, i saw/heard the director of the movie speak on The Fabulous Picture Show on Aljazeera
and i liked what he had to say and how he said it
and two, this movie has scooped  6 awards at the AMAA [African Movie Academy Award]
Best Film Best Director Best Cinematography Best Production design...
and three, i dont think i hav seen any production  coming out of the Congo
expect for the photo exhibitions on style and music in the congo 
oh and LUMUMBA by Raoul Peck  and Pieces d'identites by  Mweze Ngangura
so this is kinda like refreshing
in ya dis ya time