tag:www.funtimesmagazine.com,2005:/categories/culture-entertainment?page=29Culture + Entertainment Culture + Entertainment | FunTimes Magazine Page 29Celebrating Africa And Its Diaspora2023-04-25T11:35:43-04:00urn:uuid:633f8709-f69e-488a-bd74-c368469a5bfa2023-04-25T11:32:26-04:002023-04-25T11:35:43-04:00Awesome April 2023-04-25 12:00:00 -0400FunTimes Staff<span><p>Image: The Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble</p><p><i><b>FunTimes Magazine</b></i><b> Culture & Entertainment, Week of April 24, 2023</b></p><p><br></p><p>The end of April is teeming with music, health, and history. Indulge in the sweetness of spring with these splendid low-cost or free activities. But before venturing out to any in-person events indoors, please respect the ongoing pandemic safety protocols, and check individual event-attending instructions with the organizers. </p><br><br><h2>Sisters of Service serious about wellness</h2><br><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/996021/fill/700x0/image4.png?timestamp=1682433271"></div><p> </p><span><br><p><b>May 6, 2023. </b>What happens when a group of women in Philly informally unite with a mutual purpose and passion? And their focus is on health issues impacting Black women? The answer is the <b>Black Women’s Wellness Forum and Expo </b>hosted by Sisters of Service. The event will feature a panel of local experts from Cocolife. Black (maternal health) and Gift of Life (organ donation), along with an expert that will focus on long-term COVID. WHYY-FM Radio host and news anchor Cherri Gregg will be the panel moderator. Check out valuable healthcare information about free mental health screenings, maternal health, organ donations, and other critical resources. Family-friendly, free, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Center in the Park, 5818 Germantown Ave., 215-356-1990 or e-mail: <a href="mailto:SistersofService23@gmail.com">SistersofService23@gmail.com</a> or <a href="http://giftoflife.org" target="_blank">giftoflife.org</a>.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/996027/fill/700x0/image6.jpg?timestamp=1682433977"></div><p> </p><h2>The Holiday and Scott connection</h2><br><div><b>April 29, 2023. </b>Billie Holiday, born in Philadelphia, and North Philly’s Jill Scott, are generations apart. But the soul stirrers are linked by their lineage -- closely bound by the aching chords of their music. <b>The Po Jaz Festival </b>will pay tribute by performing the songs of the two Philly-born icons. Free, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. The event will include an open-mic session on the grounds of the Community Education Center. 3500 Lancaster Ave., <a href="https://www.cecarts.org/">https://www.cecarts.org/</a>.</div><br><br><br><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/996030/fill/700x0/image5.png?timestamp=1682435279"></div><p> </p><span><h2>The unifying power of Simone’s music</h2><br><p><b>April 30, 2023.</b> Jazz siren Nina Simone fastened art and activism together like strings to a guitar. <b>Enjoy Four Women</b> – an afternoon of evocative song, dance, poetry, and visual art featuring performances by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/besadmusic/" target="_blank">Bethlehem & Sad Patrick</a>. With passion and purpose, Simone’s voice shone a glaring light on racism, segregation, and inequality. She played an enduring part in the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s through the powerful bond and conviction of her music. The event is part of The Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy’s <a href="https://www.creativephl.org/programs/philly-celebrates-jazz/">Philly Celebrates Jazz</a> 2023 of free jazz events during nationally-recognized Jazz Appreciation Month in April in Philadelphia. Free, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Harriett’s Bookshop, 258 E Girard Ave., 267-241-2617, <a href="http://creativephl.org" target="_blank">creativephl.org</a> or <a href="https://bookshop.org/shop/harriettsbookshop">https://bookshop.org/shop/harriettsbookshop</a>.</p><br><br><br><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/996036/fill/700x0/image8.jpg?timestamp=1682435346"></div><p> </p><span><h2>Jazz holds court with opera</h2><br><p><b>April 30, 2023.</b> Check out <b>Jazz Up, Down and Around </b>and find out that opposites attract. And find out the answers to questions like: What is jazz opera? What does it sound like? Can opera and jazz co-exist? <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=456182364891003" target="_blank">The Arpeggio Jazz Ensemble </a>merges two genres for an exciting marriage that explodes all musical stereotypes. Listen to excerpts from Warren Oree’s jazz opera, “Never Back Down,” (2010), and works from his inaugural opera, “The Dream Tree,” (1997). Join a discussion afterward. Free, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Southside Events, 1410 Mt. Vernon St., 215-421-3688, e-mail: <a href="mailto:lifelinemusic@comcast.net">lifelinemusic@comcast.net</a> or <a href="http://www.lifelinemusiccoalition.com/blog/">http://www.lifelinemusiccoalition.com/blog/</a>.</p><br><br><br><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/996037/fill/700x0/image7.jpg?timestamp=1682435570"></div><p> </p><span><h2>All-day HBCU college fair is fab</h2><br><p><b>May 20, 2023. </b>Drumline battles, majorettes, cheer squads, and Chill Moody. Catch them all in one place. March down to the <b>HBCU Festival Presented by TD Bank</b> – where The Mann will be converted to a huge all-day campus community celebration of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The college fair features representatives from national and regional HBCUs and highlights “the rich and varied performing arts integral to HBCU culture.” Enjoy performances by guest artists, live HBCU choirs, marching bands, majorettes, cheer squads, and Community Artist-in-Residence Chill Moody. Take classes by choral and band directors and panel discussions on college affairs. Immerse yourself in fare from food trucks, face painting, balloon making, and crafts. Sport your favorite HBCU sorority and fraternity apparel. You also can bring your food and non-alcoholic beverages. Free but register online, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., The Mann, 5201 Parkside Ave., <a href="https://www.manncenter.org/HBCU">MannCenter.org/HBCU</a>, <a href="https://www.universe.com/events/hbcu-festival-presented-by-td-bank-tickets-6BGZF8?ref=universe-discover" target="_blank">universe.com</a> or <a href="http://manncenter.org" target="_blank">manncenter.org</a>.</p><p><br></p><p>Related article:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2022/07/09/405534/let-s-talk-about-hbcus" target="_blank"> Let’s Talk About HBCUs</a></h4>
<p> “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” -Nelson Mandela <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2022/07/09/405534/let-s-talk-about-hbcus">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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</p><p> </p><br><br><br></span><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/996040/fill/700x0/image2.jpg?timestamp=1682436424"><br><br><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/996044/fill/700x0/james_20forten.png?timestamp=1682436779">Actor Nathan Alford-Tate as James Forten</div></div><div><br></div><span><br><h2>A lost story of America’s Black founders</h2><br><p><b>Through November 26, 2023. Black Founders: The Forten Family of Philadelphia</b> exhibit features James Forten and his descendants as they experienced the American Revolution in Philadelphia -- emerging as leaders in the abolition movement before the Civil War and women’s suffrage era. The exhibit explores the Fortens’ roles in the Revolutionary War, business in Philadelphia, as well as abolition and voting rights over a decade, beginning in 1776. That’s when the Fortens heard the Declaration of Independence read out loud for the first time. James Forten was a prominent businessman and philanthropist. Born a free person of African heritage, his finest role was as an American abolitionist. It’s a keen look at “the history of the American experiment of liberty, equality, and self-government,” notes the promotional material. Family of 4: $55, adults: $21 (seniors, $19), youth: 17 and under: $13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, Museum of the American Revolution, 101 South 3rd St., 877-740-1776 or <a href="http://amrevmuseum.org" target="_blank">amrevmuseum.org</a>.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/996042/fill/700x0/image1.jpg?timestamp=1682436469"></div><p> </p><h2>Tips from pros in the field of the arts</h2><br><p>The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Cultural Campus are celebrating Black artists who bring their talents to the Philadelphia region. They call it<b> “Celebrating Black Artistry All Year Long.”</b> They asked participants in the field of arts and culture who have or will be performing locally to answer questions regarding the impact of the arts on their lives, how they use their positions to affect progress, and what advice they’d give to a young person starting out in arts and entertainment. Check out the insight imparted by actors Darian Sanders (Disney’s Lion King), Britney Coleman (Beetlejuice), Taylor Harris (CATS), Amina Faye (SIX), Terica Marie (SIX), Eugene Lee (A Soldier’s Story) and Phyre Hawkins (Come From Away) and singer-musicians Anthony McGill (Philadelphia Chamber Music Society), Lisa Fischer, Carlton Singleton (Ranky Tanky), dancer Jeroboam Bozeman (Alvin American Dance Theater) and Kim Bears-Bailey (artistic director, PHILADANCO). Free. See their advice: <a href="http://kimmelculturalcampus.org" target="_blank">kimmelculturalcampus.org</a>.</p><p><br></p></span><br><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>urn:uuid:496b68c7-c0b8-4407-b9fd-54cbaf0e47bb2023-04-24T12:53:46-04:002023-04-24T13:13:01-04:00The Era of Afrofuturism2023-04-25 10:00:00 -0400Anand Subramanian<span><p>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@thevoncomplex?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Mike Von</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/98dyRIKPGK4?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a><br></p><p><br></p><p>The future seems promising for all of us. </p><br><p>We live in an era where technology is as much a part of our daily lives as breathing. Every culture had an impact on this technological period. So, do you believe the African diaspora would have been left behind? Certainly not. This is where Afrofuturism enters the picture. </p><br><p>Afrofuturism is a cultural trend that has gained popularity in recent decades. It is a future vision based on Black people's experiences, traditions, and ambitions. An African diaspora-based movement strives to investigate the link between technology, science, and culture from a Black viewpoint. Afrofuturism evolved in the late twentieth century as African artists, authors, and intellectuals began to consider the possibilities of a future in which Black people play a crucial role in defining technology, science, and society. Afrofuturism is fundamentally about visualizing a better future for Black people. It is about building a community where Black people actively determine the future rather than passive consumers of technology and science. It is a method for Black people to regain agency and power in a world that has traditionally denied it to them.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995523/fill/700x0/george_20clinton.jpeg?timestamp=1682356179">George Clinton performing in 2009. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:George_Clinton_(musician)#/media/File:Voodoo_Experience_2009_(16_of_37).jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></div></span><span><br><p>At the heart of Afrofuturism lies the concept of otherness, embodied by influential figures such as <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/20/432186/three-essential-tales-of-black-vampirism" target="_blank">Octavia Butler</a>, <a href="https://www.samueldelany.com/" target="_blank">Samuel R. Delany</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Ra" target="_blank">Sun Ra</a>. By merging science fiction with Egyptian mysticism, they created a mythical persona that inspires those seeking to explore this innovative concept.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clinton_(funk_musician)" target="_blank"> George Clinton</a>, <a href="https://gagosian.com/artists/ellen-gallagher/" target="_blank">Ellen Gallagher</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanuri_Kahiu" target="_blank">Wanuri Kahiu</a> have all been inspired by Afrofuturism, drawn to its unique perspective on how technology intersects with Black politics and aesthetics. It's no secret that technology plays a crucial role in shaping our understanding and approach to the future, and Afrofuturism harnesses this cultural instrument to create truly unique and thought-provoking works. From music to visual art to film, the skills are a powerful platform for afro futuristic expression, captivating audiences and pushing boundaries. </p><br><p>The trailblazing blockbuster success <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1825683/" target="_blank">"Black Panther" (2018)</a>, directed by Ryan Coogler, is one of the most notable instances of Afrofuturism in film. The film takes place in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, presented as a technologically advanced culture that remains concealed from the rest of the world. The film's blend of future technology and African cultural allusions gained critical praise and economic success, propelling it to the box office. Other significant Afrofuturistic films include Jordan Peele's <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5052448/" target="_blank">"Get Out" (2017)</a>, which tackles themes of race and identity in a horror environment, and Boots Riley's <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5688932/" target="_blank">"Sorry to Bother You" (2018)</a>, which satirizes corporate culture and capitalism utilizing science fiction tropes.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995521/fill/700x0/Serengeti_Cyborg__by_Fanuel_Leul.jpeg?timestamp=1682355612">"Serengeti Cyborg," an artistic depiction of Afrofuturism by Fanuel Leul. Source: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afrofuturism#/media/File:Serengeti_Cyborg,_by_Fanuel_Leul.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a><br><br></div></span><span><p><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/12/431653/basquiat-a-multidisciplinary-artist-who-denounced-violence-against-african-americans" target="_blank">Jean-Michel Basquiat</a>, a notable artist in the 1980s who integrated African art and cultural elements into his work, is one of the most prominent examples. Text, symbols, and pictures highlight his African background, identity, and social themes in his paintings. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mickalenethomas/" target="_blank">Mickalene Thomas</a>, a modern artist who utilizes photography, collage, and painting to explore themes of identity, gender, and sexuality, is another famous example. Her art frequently contains bright colors and patterns, and she mixes Afrofuturism themes into her paintings to create a sense of otherworldliness.</p><br><p>Yet, Afrofuturism is more than a passing fad or fashion. It is a tremendous future vision with the ability to change the world we live in. Afrofuturism provides a potent antidote to the racism, injustice, and inequality that continue to afflict our society by creating a future in which Black people are free, empowered, and in charge.</p><br><p>Afrofuturism is a daring and essential movement in a society that has frequently ignored and excluded Black people from influencing the future. It encourages us to envisage a better future for all of us, not just Black people. It reminds us that our future is not preset but that we can actively influence and create it. As we move forward, let us embrace the imaginative spirit of Afrofuturism and collaborate to create a more fair, equitable, and inclusive society for everyone.</p><br><br>Related articles:<br></span><div class="media clearfix">
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<p>Art preserves a culture's and society's standards, but it may also question our assumptions and impressions of how the world works. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2022/06/17/403190/top-5-black-contemporary-artists-who-are-making-a-cultural-difference-in-2022">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/12/431653/basquiat-a-multidisciplinary-artist-who-denounced-violence-against-african-americans" target="_blank">Basquiat: A multidisciplinary artist who denounced violence against African Americans</a></h4>
<p>At the time of the Black Lives Matter movement, Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work is more relevant than ever. It highlights racial inequalities and the lack of representation of racialized peop... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/12/431653/basquiat-a-multidisciplinary-artist-who-denounced-violence-against-african-americans">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/02/25/426975/the-harlem-renaissance-and-its-impact-on-black-art-and-culture-" target="_blank">The Harlem Renaissance and its impact on Black art and culture.</a></h4>
<p>During the Harlem Renaissance, Black artists, writers, musicians, and intellectuals converged in Harlem to express their cultural identity and resist racial discrimination. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/02/25/426975/the-harlem-renaissance-and-its-impact-on-black-art-and-culture-">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><br><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><div class="image-medium image-align-left"><img alt="" src="//cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/814912/fill/300x0/anand.jpg?timestamp=1682356287"></div><p> Anand Subramanian is a freelance photographer and content writer based out of Tamil Nadu, India. Having a background in Engineering always made him curious about life on the other side of the spectrum. He leapt forward towards the Photography life and never looked back. Specializing in Documentary and Portrait photography gave him an up-close and personal view into the complexities of human beings and those experiences helped him branch out from visual to words. Today he is mentoring passionate photographers and writing about the different dimensions of the art world.</p><p><br></p><p>Read more from Anand Subramanian:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/18/432045/the-black-church-in-the-african-diaspora-an-examination-of-the-role-of-the-black-church-" target="_blank">The Black Church in the African Diaspora: An examination of the role of the Black church.</a></h4>
<p>The African diaspora has left an everlasting impression on communities worldwide, and the Black church is one institution that has played a significant role in these communities. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/18/432045/the-black-church-in-the-african-diaspora-an-examination-of-the-role-of-the-black-church-">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<span class="pull-left"><a href="/2023/04/22/432301/the-potential-of-african-renewable-energy-resources-and-the-push-towards-sustainable-development" target="_blank"><img alt="The Potential of African Renewable Energy Resources and the Push Towards Sustainable Development" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995373/fit/80x80/ngong_20hills.jpeg?timestamp=1682356336" class="media-object"></a></span>
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<h4 class="media-heading"><a href="/2023/04/22/432301/the-potential-of-african-renewable-energy-resources-and-the-push-towards-sustainable-development" target="_blank">The Potential of African Renewable Energy Resources and the Push Towards Sustainable Development</a></h4>
<p>In recent years, there has been an increasing awareness of the need for sustainable development and renewable energy's role in reaching this aim. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/22/432301/the-potential-of-african-renewable-energy-resources-and-the-push-towards-sustainable-development">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> The difficulties experienced by those who identify with both the African American and LGBTQ+ groups will be discussed, as well as the value of accepting diversity within both communities. <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2023/04/12/431697/the-intersection-of-african-american-and-lgbtq-identities">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>urn:uuid:56141506-e768-4c46-8bc3-a260d1afad3c2023-04-24T10:20:53-04:002023-04-24T11:46:43-04:00The legacy of iconic singer Miriam Makeba and her art of activism2023-04-24 14:00:00 -0400The Conversation via Reuters Connect<p>Image: Miriam Makeba Credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Miriam_Makeba#/media/File:Vocal_music,_Paris_-_UNESCO_House_-_UNESCO_-_PHOTO0000004878_0001.tiff" target="_blank">UNESCO / Dominique Roger</a> <br></p><p><br></p><p>South Africa’s world famous singer and activist <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/miriam-makeba">Miriam Makeba</a> (1932-2008) would have turned 90 on 4 March 2022. Born Zenzile Miriam Makeba in Johannesburg’s Prospect township, she had a life of remarkable global impact. She contributed to black people’s struggle for liberation and defended the integrity of African identity and artistry while living in a land absent of her ancestry.</p><p>Despite being banned from her home country for her outspokenness and resistance to apartheid, Makeba went on to build an illustrious international career, performing on some of the world’s most prestigious stages. She would be celebrated – and persecuted – in the US and invited to perform at the independence celebrations of numerous African countries before eventually returning to South Africa later in life.</p><p>In commemorating what would have been Makeba’s 90th birthday, it is fitting to pay tribute to her legacy of activism not only as a black African woman often living in exile in a western society but also as an artist who used her craft to teach and conscientise the world about Africa.</p><p><br></p><h2>Early years</h2><br><p>Her musical beginnings in the 1940s were at Kilnerton College, a Methodist elementary school where she sang in the school choir. The school’s alumni include South Africa’s former chief justice <a href="https://www.concourt.org.za/index.php/judges/former-judges/11-former-judges/70-deputy-chief-justice-dikgang-moseneke">Dikgang Moseneke</a>, <a href="http://www.unizulu.ac.za/unizulu-celebrating-the-legendary-musical-icon-professor-khabi-mngoma/">Professor Khabi Mngoma</a>, a hugely influential figure in music education, as well as struggle icon <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/lilian-masediba-ngoyi">Lilian Ngoyi</a>.</p><p>Makeba’s break into the professional circuit was with the singing group the Cuban Brothers. She later joined the well-established <a href="https://www.thepresidency.gov.za/national-orders/recipient/manhattan-brothers">Manhattan Brothers</a>. They sang vernacular verses over what was a predominantly American swing and ragtime sound.</p><p>She was a founding member of the famous all-woman singing group <a href="https://www.allaboutjazz.com/miriam-makeba-and-the-skylarks-vol-1-miriam-makeba-and-the-skylarks-vol-2-miriam-makeba-teal-records-review-by-ed-kopp">the Skylarks</a>. In 1952, she was cast in Alf Herbert’s <a href="https://soulsafari.wordpress.com/2009/03/22/african-jazz-variety-alfred-herbert-1952/">African Jazz and Variety</a> production showcasing black talent. It was presented mainly to white audiences except on Thursdays when black audiences were allowed. This is where film producer Lionel Rogosin spotted Makeba and persuaded her to feature in his controversial documentary film, <em><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049087/">Come Back Africa</a></em>.</p><p>This film depicted the harsh conditions under which black South Africans were forced to live by the apartheid government. Makeba’s short appearance attracted attention, including an invitation to attend the film’s premiere in Italy. Naturally, she agreed, never imagining that because of her role in the movie she would be banned by the apartheid state from returning home, not even to bury her own mother. This marked the beginning of her exile.</p><p>Promoting the film in London, Makeba met African American folk singer and activist <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Harry-Belafonte">Harry Belafonte</a>. He would play a significant role in her career in the US, forming half of the duet on their <a href="https://www.grammy.com/artists/miriam-makeba/4292">Grammy-winning</a> album <em><a href="https://www.miriammakeba.co.za/releases/An-Evening-With-Belafonte-Makeba-1965">An Evening with Belafonte & Makeba</a></em>.</p><p><br></p><h2>Art as activism</h2><br><p>Her artistry extended beyond the stage, beyond her impeccable vocals and her sophisticated interpretations of international and South African repertoire. Her very presence in the United States stood as a form of activism against the apartheid government who had attempted to silence her and erase her from the consciousness of her people.</p><p>Makeba’s life in the US coincided with the parallel experiences of black people in America and South Africa suffering immense injustice, marginalisation, racism and inequality. Like the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/American-civil-rights-movement">Civil Rights Movement</a> in the US was a vehicle through which black Americans protested. Academic Barber-Sizemore <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17533171.2012.715416">describes</a> Makeba’s voice as being “a surface onto which Americans projected their own narratives about Africa and American race relations”.</p><p>Her artistry, always informed by the circumstances in South Africa, served as a razor-sharp awareness tool. In journalist Gwen Ansell’s book <a href="https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Soweto-Blues%3A-Jazz%2C-Popular-Music%2C-and-Politics-in-Ansell/55a1e1246a1e98828e11447f7e347f76520cf11f"><em>Soweto Blues</em></a>, the late <a href="https://theconversation.com/remembering-hugh-masekela-the-horn-player-with-a-shrewd-ear-for-music-of-the-day-86414">Hugh Masekela</a> concurs that</p><blockquote><p><i>There’s nobody in Africa who made the world more aware of what was happening in South Africa than Miriam Makeba. This was because of the way in which she described the songs…unwittingly she educated African American artists.</i></p></blockquote><p>Makeba would describe life in apartheid South Africa when introducing her songs and would use every opportunity to address inequality. As analysed by academic Louise Bethlehem, Makeba’s work <a href="https://doi.org/10.1215/01642472-6917766">resisted</a> the apartheid state’s threat to dismantle the very place of African art and culture in the world.</p><p></p><div></div><p></p><p>African Americans saw in Makeba not only what they were but also the possibilities of what they could become, expressed through song, dance, dress, language and ideology. Makeba found commonality with artists such as <a href="https://www.ninasimone.com/biography/">Nina Simone</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/aug/15/abbey-lincoln-obituary">Abbey Lincoln</a>, who historian Ruth Feldstein <a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/how-it-feels-to-be-free-9780195314038?cc=za&lang=en&">referred</a> to as “an emergent collective of black women performers who combined their music with civil rights activism”.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995513/fill/700x0/Miriam_Makeba__Bestanddeelnr_922-1835__cropped_.jpeg?timestamp=1682351010"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Miriam_Makeba#/media/File:Miriam_Makeba,_Bestanddeelnr_922-1835_(cropped).jpg" target="_blank">Public Domain</a></div><p><br></p><h2>Aesthetic as activism</h2><br><p>What I appreciate most about Makeba is the way in which she not only embraced but leaned into her sexuality and sensuality. The way she moved her body on stage was often provocative, drawing the audience into her world. She understood acutely the power of her black body and its curvature.</p><p>Her aesthetic of natural hair and minimal make up (if any at all) communicated eloquently her strong sense of self, rooted in her African identity free from the expectations of western notions of beauty and acceptability.</p><p>In remembering Makeba, we must guard against confining her activism to the anti-apartheid speeches she delivered at the United Nations in <a href="https://www.unmultimedia.org/avlibrary/asset/2553/2553678/">1963</a> and <a href="https://africanactivist.msu.edu/image.php?objectid=210-809-1981">1976</a>. Her activism was far more nuanced than that. It was interwoven in her music, her delivery of melodies, lyrics and artistic sentiment. Her artistry was a lantern that burnt vigorously through one of the darkest eras in history.</p><p><br></p><h2>A legacy spanning generations</h2><br><p>Kenyan author Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, <a href="https://lithub.com/mukoma-wa-ngugi-what-decolonizing-the-mind-means-today/">believes</a> that Africans singing in their native language is an international act of decolonisation and a marker of Pan African identity. Academic Aaron Carter-Enyi <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332734100_Decolonizing_the_Mind_Through_Song_From_Makeba_to_the_Afropolitan_present">acknowledged</a> Makeba’s influence on other African singers to sing in their mother tongues. Like Benin’s <a href="http://www.kidjo.com/">Angelique Kidjo</a> who sings in Yoruba, Mali’s <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Oumou-Sangare">Oumou Sangare</a> who sings in Mandinka and Nigeria’s <a href="https://npl.ng/team_members/onyeka-onwenu/">Onyeka Onwenu</a> who sings in Igbo.</p><p>Makeba’s influence transcends generations to reveal itself in contemporary cultural practices. We are because she was. Makeba’s legacy is too often suffocated by the complexity surrounding her <a href="https://www.news24.com/News24/who-owns-miriam-makeba-20180617">intellectual property</a> as well as her relationships with the men in her life.</p><p>Makeba was not just the wife of musician Masekela or <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Black-Panther-Party">Black Panther</a> leader <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stokely-Carmichael">Stokely Carmichael</a>. She was not Belafonte’s “discovery from South Africa”. She arrived in America a consummate professional fit for purpose.</p><p>The role of these male figures in Makeba’s life may have been meaningful but it is also grossly overstated. Makeba’s legacy is strong enough to stand on its own two feet. Her name needs no co-anchor. She fought more with her “artivism” than many a man did with their armed weaponry.</p><p>It’s time to move beyond her widely-adopted nickname “Mama Africa”. Makeba was a stalwart and an icon of African liberation and identity. Her legacy carved the way for future generations to live a life of authenticity, fearlessness and bravery.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>urn:uuid:ec57cb79-f2e2-4e92-9af2-875a4e4d8a782023-04-20T12:14:23-04:002023-04-22T12:57:22-04:00Nollywood could see a major boost from Nigeria’s new copyright law - an expert explains why2023-04-23 14:00:00 -0400The Conversation via Reuters Connect<p>Nollywood filmmakers at work. Source: <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/Future_Ambassadors_movie_onset.jpg/640px-Future_Ambassadors_movie_onset.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p><p><br></p><p>Nigeria has finally <a href="https://infojustice.org/archives/45182">updated its 2004 copyright law</a>, bringing it into the digital era – where the entertainment industry has been for decades already.</p><p>Before the late 1990s, it was difficult even to get telephone services in Nigeria. And it was very expensive for private enterprises to make films. Since then, digital technology has unleashed a multitude of ways to receive information and entertainment.</p><p>With the arrival of digital technology, all a filmmaker needed was a simple video recorder and a group of talented creatives. Thus modern Nollywood – the Nigerian film industry – was born.</p><p>Nollywood employs <a href="https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2021/06/streaming-video-services-flood-emerging-markets-behsudi">more than a million people</a> directly or indirectly, making the sector Nigeria’s second largest employer after agriculture. In 2022, <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1186955/arts-entertainment-and-recreation-sector-contribution-to-gdp-in-nigeria/#:%7E:text=Arts%2C%20entertainment%20and%20recreation%20sector,GDP%20in%20Nigeria%202019%2D2022&text=In%20the%20second%20quarter%20of,when%20it%20reached%200.3%20percent.">Nollywood’s contribution to Nigeria’s GDP stood at 0.1%</a>. It’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/10/nigeria-africa-biggest-economy-nollywood">Africa’s most successful film industry</a> and the third largest globally after Hollywood and Bollywood in terms of the number of movies produced <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1186955/arts-entertainment-and-recreation-sector-contribution-to-gdp-in-nigeria/#:%7E:text=Arts%2C%20entertainment%20and%20recreation%20sector,GDP%20in%20Nigeria%202019%2D2022&text=In%20the%20second%20quarter%20of,0.21%20percent%20of%20Nigeria's%20GDP">annually</a>.</p><p>But Nigeria’s copyright regime lagged behind the industry’s technological and business developments. The biggest issue was piracy, that it was easy to copy and sell other people’s work without their consent. The courts found themselves with new intellectual property problems to deal with and it was clear a new copyright regime was needed.<br></p><p>I have spent much of my career <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=1390877">researching copyright law in Africa</a> and the <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3373358">connection between copyright and the economic growth</a> of Africa’s creative industries – films, fashion, music, literature and others.</p><p>I have <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4228165">written specifically about Nollywood</a>, arguing that it needs a new copyright regime if it is to thrive. And I have <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3989947">researched the kind of copyright curriculum</a> that law schools in Nigeria need in order to make the amended copyright law effective in growing its creative industries. My research supports the idea that Nigeria should deliberately include digital copyright regimes in its laws and strengthen the institutions that put them into effect.</p><p>And the new copyright law in Nigeria does fill gaps. Nigerians will now have a legal regime that can protect their creativity within the technological space. The new law will be useful to combat online film piracy and loss of revenue from the illegal use of copyrighted works.</p><p>The new law has the potential to create stability and predictability in industries like Nollywood. This is a positive step towards a more diversified national economy – and economic growth.</p><p>But it will be important to allow the courts to do their job. Trying to settle disputes through the Nigerian Copyright Commission – which is a new option – could complicate and prolong the litigation. That might discourage investment in the creative industry.</p><p><br></p><h2>Key benefits of the new law</h2><br><p>Nigeria’s <a href="https://www.adams.africa/africa-general/nigeria-enacts-new-copyright-act/#:%7E:text=Nigeria%20enacts%20Copyright%20Act%2C%202022,the%20Copyright%20Act%20of%202004">new</a> copyright law recognises and protects creative works that are based on current digital productive technologies. It covers films, music, performances, literary works and performances enabled by the internet and wireless devices through streaming techniques, uploads, hyperlinks and air-drops.</p><p><a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3373358">The law now provides</a> anti-circumvention devices. It is now a copyright infringement to illegally circumvent a computer program, software or a technical protection measure created to protect a copyrighted work. Film piracy is both a criminal offence and a civil wrong, with severe punishment and consequences. This now applies to new forms of online film piracy too.</p><p>The new copyright law also includes a “safe harbour” provision which protects Nollywood entrepreneurs from unnecessary legal suits. For example, online service provider business is an emerging technology that requires huge investment and is vulnerable to illegal actions. People upload unauthorised content on an online platform and this can result in lawsuits which affect investors in this sector. The safe harbour comes with responsibility on the part of the online service provider: it must quickly remove unauthorised content and must not benefit financially from it.</p><p>The new law gives copyright owners ways to resolve disputes over ownership of online content without necessarily going to court.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995219/fill/700x0/anika-de-klerk-dWYjy9zIiF8-unsplash.jpg?timestamp=1682016831">Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@anikamikkelson?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Anika De Klerk</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/s/photos/film-rolls-movie?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a></div><p><br></p><h2>Five other new aspects</h2><br><p>The new law has five more aspects that will help sustain the creative economy and promote access to knowledge and education.</p><ol><li><p>Alternative dispute resolution system. This mechanism can be used to settle issues surrounding creative rights within contemporary digital platforms. The process will be organised by the Nigerian Copyright Commission, the regulator.</p></li><li><p>Register of works. Creators are required to register their created works. Although creators of works like Nollywood films automatically own their copyright, the register – if well executed – may help with rights management and be a resource for potential investors in the industry.</p></li><li><p>User generated content. When you take a photo of yourself and upload it on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Instagram or TikTok, what you have done is upload content on an online service provider. You may have copyright over that content. The new copyright law clearly defines your rights and regulates infringement of such rights.</p></li><li><p>Copyright exceptions. Sometimes a copyrighted work can be used without the copyright owner’s authorisation. The new law seems to take the approach that the public has a right to use a copyrighted work if it’s good for society. For example, anyone can use a copyrighted work for educational purposes – to teach in a classroom, for news reporting, criticism, or parody. People can also use the underlying idea in the copyrighted work (ideas aren’t protected by copyright) to create a new, “derivative” work.</p></li><li><p>Copyright management organisation. Another new aspect is that regulators can appoint more than one copyright management organisation to serve a specific class of creative work. This will potentially further liberalise and democratise creativity.</p></li></ol><h2><br></h2><h2>The cautions</h2><br><p>Laws ought to be effective in action. If the new law is to benefit Nollywood and other digital industries, government institutions and policies will need revamping.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.eregistration.copyright.gov.ng/">Nigerian Copyright Commission</a> should use its new administrative powers carefully. It should be sensitive to the fact that only the courts can judge disputes of property rights.</p><p>The commission must stop licensing only one collective management organisation per creative category. Currently, for example, in the musical works category the commission has granted only one copyright management organisation the licence to collect royalties on behalf of creators. This has resulted in court <a href="https://ssrn.com/abstract=3260555">battles for sole control</a> over royalties. If the commission makes rights management more competitive, there may be less tension in the sector. Creatives should have more choice.</p><p>Nigeria will also need to pay more attention to training experts with knowledge of the digital era laws. The <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3989947">university creative and legal curriculum</a> needs reform along with the new law.</p><p>If the new law is to benefit Nollywood, it will have to be properly implemented.</p><p><br></p><h2>Why this matters</h2><br><p>The updated Nigerian copyright law recognises how a contemporary creative system can encourage investment in the Nigerian film industry.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p> </p></div><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>urn:uuid:abbb94f9-e435-49b0-b44b-d035cc597d4d2023-04-20T12:11:49-04:002023-04-22T12:57:21-04:00Beyoncé is not the most commercially successful artist of our age but she might be one of the most culturally significant2023-04-23 12:00:00 -0400The Conversation via Reuters Connect<p>Beyoncé performing in 2016. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_Formation_World_Tour#/media/File:FORMATION_TOR_NORTH_CAROLINE3.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a><br><br></p><p>There is always a flurry of media excitement at this time of year surrounding the <a href="https://www.grammy.com/">Grammys</a>, the American music business’s peer-recognised music awards delivered by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.<br>But away from the gossip about who deserved to win, the outfits on display and the racial and gender politics surrounding the awards, this year there is one thing that stands out. In 2023, Beyoncé won the Grammy for best dance/electronic album and in the process <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/feb/05/beyonce-breaks-record-grammys-harry-styles-kendrick-lamar-adele">became the Grammy’s most-awarded artist</a>.</p><p>The record had previously rested with Hungarian-British conductor Sir Georg Solti, <a href="https://www.classicfm.com/artists/sir-georg-solti/beyonce-grammys-win-record/">whose tally of 31 Grammys had stood for more than 20 years</a>.</p><p>Beyoncé has been the subject of Grammy controversy in previous years. She was widely perceived to have been twice robbed of the album of the year.</p><p>In 2015, her album <i>Beyoncé </i>lost out to electronic musician Beck’s Morning Phase. The award presentation was hijacked by Kanye West in protest who demanded Beck forfeit the award and “<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/beck-besting-beyonce-grammy-new-album-colors-interview-8005680/">respect [Beyoncé’s] artistry</a>”.</p><p>In 2017, the critically acclaimed <i>Lemonade</i> failed to top Adele’s 25. The British singer <a href="https://www.grammy.com/news/adele-25-beyonce-lemonade-grammys-2017-album-of-the-year-win-acceptance-speech-video-rewind">stated on accepting the album of the year</a>: “I can’t possibly accept this award. And I’m very humbled, and I’m very grateful and gracious, but my artist of my life is Beyoncé.”</p><p>The resulting outcry brought about <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/will-the-grammys-2018-be-a-breakthrough-moment_uk_5a21389ce4b05072e8b56810">a heightened public interest in the racial politics of the awards</a> with the #grammyssowhite hashtag trending and the Academy making the voting system more accessible.</p><p>Beyoncé did not win best album again this year, losing out to British singer Harry Style’s <i>Harry House</i>. However, she is now the most recognised artist at the award show with 32 Grammys.</p><p>The Grammys are voted on by record companies and Recording Academy members, Beyoncé has been recognised by her peers as an accomplished artist. Whether this record makes her one of the most successful artists of our current age, however, is questionable. Looking at her sales and figures as well as her fandom and the critical response to her work paints a more complicated picture.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995190/fill/700x0/Beyonce_Brussels_5.jpeg?timestamp=1682014284">Beyoncé on tour in 2016. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:The_Formation_World_Tour#/media/File:Beyonce_Brussels_5.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></div><p><br></p><h2>Critically but not commercially successful</h2><br><p>In 2022, Beyonce’s <i>Renaissance</i> didn’t break the top ten albums in terms of units sold. That list was topped by the Puerto Rican artist <a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/chart-beat/2022-us-year-end-music-report-luminate-top-album-bad-bunny-un-verano-sin-ti-1235196736/">Bad Bunny</a>.</p><p>Her streaming figures <a href="https://ledgernote.com/blog/interesting/most-streamed-artists-ever/">are also not as impressive as you might think</a>. She doesn’t break into the top ten list of all-time streamed artists or even figure in the top 30 of monthly listeners on Spotify. The Canadian rapper <a href="https://routenote.com/blog/most-streamed-artists-all-time-spotify/">Drake</a> topped the list in 2022, followed by <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-latin/bad-bunny-spotify-most-streamed-artists-2022-1234638759/">Bad Bunny</a>.</p><p>So it’s clear that despite her status, in purely commercial terms Beyoncé is not a dominating presence in the music industry, with many artists selling and streaming at considerably higher levels.</p><p>If we move beyond the relatively crude tool of sales and streaming figures for assessing Beyoncé’s status, however, she does fare better.</p><p>An analysis of critical response to her last four albums shows that her last three albums have struck more of a chord with the critics than previous efforts, as her brand has developed into an almost mythic status.</p><p><i>Renaissance</i> won the <a href="https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/best-albums-2022/">Pitchfork Best Album of the Year</a> in 2022. <i>Lemonade</i> from 2016 <a href="https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9980-the-50-best-albums-of-2016/?page=5">only reached the third spot</a> in Pitchfork’s Best album of the year list, but still <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/nov/30/the-best-albums-of-2016">gained the top spot in the Guardian’s list</a> with the paper saying:</p><blockquote><p>With this sumptuously produced visual album, Beyoncé once again pulled the rug out from under the idea of what a pop R&B record could be – it’s hard to think of a pop star who has travelled further from bumping and grinding out Top 40 fodder, to this politicised avenging angel.</p></blockquote><p>The artist’s 2013 self-titled album <i>Beyoncé</i> became Billboard’s Best Album of the Year with <i>Q magazine</i> dubbing it “one of the greatest albums of the past 30 years”.</p><p>However, when we look at the album 4 from 2011, it only reached 25 in the <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-best-albums-of-2011-154391/beyonce-4-2-32075/">Rolling Stone “best of list”</a> and <a href="https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/8727-the-top-50-albums-of-2011/?page=3">27 in Pitchfork’s</a>.</p><p><br></p><h2>The BeyHive</h2><br><p>Her last three albums have touched on issues from racism and blackness to sexism and religion. These albums have cemented her cultural importance and developed her status as <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2019/5/8/18531299/beyonce-taylor-swift-plagiarism-controversy-billboard-homecoming-me">idol</a>.</p><p>Her songs have had a powerful cultural impact. She has been described as empowering new generations of <a href="https://www.grammy.com/news/beyonce-black-power-empowerment-black-sounds-beautiful">young black women and artists</a> and even inspiring a new wave of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/shortcuts/2019/oct/23/cult-beyonce-christian-worship-new-york">Christian worship</a>.</p><p>This sort of idolisation of the singer has meant she has one of the most active fan bases in pop culture. Known as <a href="https://www.theringer.com/2016/6/3/16042806/beyonce-beyhive-online-fan-forum-b7c7226ac16d#:%7E:text=The%20BeyHive%20is%20massive%20%E2%80%94%20more,for%20access%20to%20the%20group">the BeyHive</a>, they are known for coming out in force anytime even a hint of criticism is levelled at <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/pictures/12-times-the-beyhive-attacked-to-defend-beyonce-w206014/">Beyoncé</a>. In particular, when feminist academic bell hooks described Beyoncé as a “<a href="https://livestream.com/thenewschool/slave">terrorist</a>” for how she chooses to appear in her music videos.</p><p>On occasion, they have been so fervent, levelling death threats at those they perceive as slighting the singer, that Beyonce’s publicist has issued reminders <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByZJa6SAwm6/">like the following</a>:</p><blockquote><p>I also want to speak here to the beautiful BeyHiVE. I know your love runs deep but that love has to be given to every human. It will bring no joy to the person you love so much if you spew hate in her name. We love you.</p></blockquote><p>The <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00332747.1956.11023049">parasocial</a> relationship – where people become deeply attached to and invest a lot in a media figure who doesn’t return the emotion – that her fanbase has with the artist is intense. This sort of die-hard fandom could explain why so many feel as if she has been “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2023/02/06/beyonce-grammys-album-year/">snubbed</a>”, despite becoming the most awarded artist at the Grammys of all time.</p><p>So while she might not be the most commercially successful she certainly is culturally important and her record as the artist who has won the most Grammys ever is certainly reflective of that.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p> </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>urn:uuid:43903866-5d53-4224-921f-2003b09170cf2023-04-20T12:08:42-04:002023-04-22T12:57:20-04:00Timeless review: Nigerian star Davido’s new album is mostly form over substance2023-04-23 10:00:00 -0400The Conversation via Reuters Connect<p>Davido performing in 2022. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Davido#/media/File:Davido9.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></p><p><br></p><p>Nigerian <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-burna-boy-set-the-world-alight-with-his-mixed-brew-of-influences-188080">Afrobeats</a> star <a href="https://www.iamdavido.com/about/">Davido</a> (David Adeleke) has demonstrated himself to be a master of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/showboat">showboating</a>. He is able to milk every situation to the maximum. And he did not disappoint with the recent <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYKsBqe5irU">trailer</a> for his fourth studio album, <a href="https://davido.lnk.to/timeless_preorder"><i>Timeless</i></a><i>,</i> released on 31 March.</p><p>It’s drenched with signifiers of the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-63600802">tragic loss</a> of his three-year-old son in a drowning accident last year. The trailer is clear as to his resolve to get over grief and dance again, and it leaves no one in doubt about his battle readiness:</p><blockquote><p><i>If dem wan turn Goliath, I be David for life!</i></p></blockquote><p>Davido sold his previous album,<i> </i><a href="https://davido.lnk.to/abettertime-album"><i>A Better Time</i></a> as a better album than the preceding <a href="https://davido.lnk.to/agoodtime"><i>A Good Time</i></a><i>.</i> There’s barely any suggestion, in my opinion as a <a href="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3110-3753">scholar of Nigerian music</a>, that this is necessarily true.</p><p>Again, Davido has mobilised this kind of language in promoting <i>Timeless</i>. This is all in the spirit of good publicity, but the impression is that his albums are by and large equals. They do well commercially owing to the colourful and likeable stature of the Davido persona. As he has <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQMljuz6Xgs">noted</a>, <i>Timeless </i>will also add to his catalogue and substantially extend his performance schedule at concerts.</p><p>But despite the barrage of <a href="https://www.pulse.ng/entertainment/music/pulse-album-review-davido-makes-his-most-musically-accomplished-album-yet-with/wtc0w36">overly friendly</a> and <a href="https://africanfolder.com/davido-timeless-album-review/">praise-singing</a> <a href="https://grmdaily.com/davido-timeless-album-review/">reviews</a>, the unremarkable Timeless is no exception to the rule of Davido’s output: he clearly has a propensity for form over content.<br><br></p><h2>Who is Davido?<br><br></h2><p>Born in the US city of Atlanta, the 30-year-old artist identifies as an American-Nigerian singer-songwriter and record producer. He <a href="http://www.thefader.com/2016/02/18/davido-cover-story-interview">studied</a> business management before turning to music.</p><p>Davido began to dominate the African airwaves soon after his debut single <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CyUo6rQ2rU">Dami Duro</a> in 2011. His production capacities endeared him to many and he represents one of the triggers for the naming of <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-nigeria-to-the-world-afrobeats-is-having-a-global-moment-179910">Afrobeats</a>, which has become an umbrella term for Nigerian popular music. He was assured a place among the biggest names in Afrobeats, alongside the likes of <a href="https://theconversation.com/who-is-nigerian-music-star-wizkid-and-why-is-he-taking-over-the-world-179775">Wizkid</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-burna-boy-set-the-world-alight-with-his-mixed-brew-of-influences-188080">Burna Boy</a>. Many in fact refer to the trio as the big three of Afrobeats.</p><p>Following his debut album <i>Omo Baba Olowo</i> in 2012, Davido enjoyed his more significant years. He released his second studio album<i> A Good Time </i>in 2019. Singles like<i> "</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqflXTvth3s">Skelewu</a>"<i> </i>(2013), "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=helEv0kGHd4">If</a>" (2017) and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iyuym-Gci0">Fall</a>"(2017) cemented his place as a trailblazer of contemporary Afrobeats.<i> "</i>If" and "Fall" made it into the 2019 album. The inclusion of the 2021 single<i> "</i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-J0Fdze42M">Champion Sound</a>"<i> i</i>n 2023’s <i>Timeless</i> thus somewhat derives from the artist’s tradition. Another undeniable tradition is Davido’s seeming obsession with 17 – each of his studio albums has 17 tracks. This superficial disposition is central to why his has been a career of numerous great singles but no great single albums.</p><p><br></p><p><img alt="" src="https://cdn0.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995187/fill/700x0/timeless.jpeg?timestamp=1682012078">Album art for <i>Timeless. </i>Source:<i> </i><a href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/timeless/1675379314" target="_blank">Apple Music</a><br></p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix"><span class="pull-left"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/11/431635/calm-down-how-a-nigerian-singer-and-a-cameroonian-dancer-inspired-a-powerful-protest-in-iran" target="_blank"><br><img alt="Calm Down how a Nigerian singer and a Cameroonian dancer inspired a powerful protest in Iran" src="https://cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/993389/fit/80x80/rema_20calm_20down.png?timestamp=1682011794" class="media-object"></a></span><div class="media-body"><h4 class="media-heading"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/11/431635/calm-down-how-a-nigerian-singer-and-a-cameroonian-dancer-inspired-a-powerful-protest-in-iran" target="_blank">Calm Down: how a Nigerian singer and a Cameroonian dancer inspired a powerful protest in Iran</a></h4><p>A winning combination of music, movement and technology can make dance routines go viral. <span class="pull-right"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/11/431635/calm-down-how-a-nigerian-singer-and-a-cameroonian-dancer-inspired-a-powerful-protest-in-iran">Read More »</a></span> </p></div></div><p> </p><div class="media clearfix"><span class="pull-left"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/13/431655/asake-the-breakout-pop-star-from-nigeria-who-owned-2022" target="_blank"><img alt="Asake the breakout pop star from Nigeria who owned 2022" src="https://cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/994069/fit/80x80/asake.png?timestamp=1682011849" class="media-object"></a></span><div class="media-body"><h4 class="media-heading"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/13/431655/asake-the-breakout-pop-star-from-nigeria-who-owned-2022" target="_blank">Asake, the breakout pop star from Nigeria who owned 2022</a></h4><p>His rise to global reckoning was sealed by sold out shows in Atlanta and London and a collaboration with Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage on the hit Loaded. <span class="pull-right"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/04/13/431655/asake-the-breakout-pop-star-from-nigeria-who-owned-2022">Read More »</a></span> </p></div></div><p> </p><div class="media clearfix"><span class="pull-left"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/02/17/426396/nigerian-music-industry-and-its-rapid-rise-on-the-global-stage" target="_blank"><img alt="Nigerian Music Industry and Its Rapid Rise on The Global Stage" src="https://cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/982001/fit/80x80/tems.png?timestamp=1682011904" class="media-object"></a></span><div class="media-body"><h4 class="media-heading"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/02/17/426396/nigerian-music-industry-and-its-rapid-rise-on-the-global-stage" target="_blank">Nigerian Music Industry and Its Rapid Rise on The Global Stage</a></h4><p>Unquestionably, the Nigerian music industry has evolved over the years onto the global stage. <span class="pull-right"><a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2023/02/17/426396/nigerian-music-industry-and-its-rapid-rise-on-the-global-stage">Read More »</a></span> </p></div></div><p><br></p><p><br></p><h2>What’s on the album?<br><br></h2><p>Even before its release, <i>Timeless</i> was bound to draw on listeners’ sympathies rather than a fair hearing due to the much-publicised death of his child. And Davido isn’t one to pass up on such leeway. Add to that the tedious terrain that is an increasingly youthful Afrobeats ecosystem where Davido’s age is already a negating factor – consider the steeply dwindling numbers for Nigerian pacesetters like <a href="https://www.musicinafrica.net/directory/2baba">2Baba</a> and <a href="https://www.musicinafrica.net/node/10233">D'banj</a> – and a comprehension of his choice of features on the album materialises.</p><p>"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xy1VEf8NiPk">Over Dem</a>," the opening track, centres on bragging, his seeming invincibility, on his uncle’s success at the Osun State gubernatorial polls, and on the creator’s faithfulness to him. Davido casts himself as a biblical David who slayed the giant Goliath. There is a brief deviation to sensuality and love on track 3, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFStBh7AMZQ">In the Garden</a>," which features a new <a href="https://guardian.ng/saturday-magazine/davido-unveils-morravey-logos-olori-as-new-acts/">signee</a> to his label, singer-songwriter Morravey. He returns to first base, proclaiming himself "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXwfKTvJ6lY">Godfather</a>"<i> </i>on track 4.</p><p>South African amapiano artist <a href="https://www.sowetanlive.co.za/s-mag/culture/2022-05-03-musa-keys-from-church-keyboard-to-amapiano-hitmaker/">Musa Keys</a> does a great job of salvaging track 5, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBnn_4v2PYM">Unavailable</a>." While "Over Dem" makes for a good album opener with its tempered and groovy percussion, it is largely synonymous with track 8, "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU0GhWxCprM">Away</a>."</p><p>With some further tweaking to "Godfather"<i> </i>and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NBSzoEJEBQ">E Pain Me</a>," the opening seven tracks could have done with being only four. In truth, the album only takes off on track 8, <i>Away</i>, suggesting the album could have been better if tracks 8 to 17 had been tracks 1 to 10 on a 10-track album. The bulk of the material in tracks 1 to 7 robs the album of cogent musicality. And the lean subject matter – bragging, love/sensuality/heartbreak, more bragging – doesn’t help the listening experience.</p><p>This may seem to suggest that tracks 8 to 17 are in perfect shape, which is not the case. They contain several needless inclusions which the passable four from the first seven tracks could have replaced. The now old outro "Champion Sound" and, to some extent,<i> </i>"<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k04o0Zn7Zm8">For the Road</a><i>" </i>and "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkHTd2kCcj8">LCND</a>" come across as album fillers, all in the name of 17.</p><p><br></p><h2>To sum it up</h2><br><p>On <i>Timeless</i>, Davido keeps it simple and resists any temptation to reinvent his own wheel. He has never been a socially conscious artist and never pretended to be. The lack of range of topics addressed in the album reveals his contentment with the level he’s always maintained and a stark lack of ambition to push beyond his boundaries.</p><p>On "Over Dem", Davido admonishes his enemies:</p><blockquote><p><i>If dem dey wait make dem see me flop, dem go wait till thy kingdom come!</i></p></blockquote><p>Well, probably not.</p><p>By the standards he has set and those his loyal audiences expect of him,<i> Timeless</i> is not a critically great body of work.</p><p>Nevertheless, Davido ought to be commended for drafting a heavyweight like Beninese singer-songwriter <a href="https://theconversation.com/angelique-kidjo-the-diva-from-benin-carries-with-her-a-fierce-history-197703">Angelique Kidjo</a> onto the album (but exploits her famous vocal capacities in a rather rushed verse on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-N1f0hIyT4">Na Money</a>). By a mile the best vocal performance on <i>Timeless </i>comes from Nigerian singer-songwriter <a href="https://www.musicinafrica.net/node/212899">FAVE</a> on the track "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVTOKOmmaZs">Kante</a>", which is also arguably the best work on the album.</p><p>This underscores Davido’s status as an OG (original gangster) whose template serves as a platform for younger stars to maximise their advantage and flourish. He, after all, rises by lifting others.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>urn:uuid:e9e10fa9-f330-4784-9c5c-8b0fa0a9401b2023-04-20T12:04:56-04:002023-04-20T13:13:41-04:00Africans in World War 1: artist William Kentridge’s epic theatre production restores forgotten histories2023-04-22 10:00:00 -0400The Conversation via Reuters Connect Image: A scene from the performance. Source: <a href="https://www.theheadandtheload.com/" target="_blank">The Head and the Load</a><br><em><br><br>South African artist <a href="https://www.kentridge.studio/">William Kentridge</a> became world famous for his charcoal drawings and hand-drawn animated films, but his work continued to grow in scope and he began staging performances. Today he also creates operas and collaborative stage productions combining numerous art forms.<br><br></em><p><em>One of his largest productions to date, <a href="https://www.kentridge.studio/projects/the_head_and_the_load/">The Head & The Load</a>, tells the forgotten stories of Africans in <a href="https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-I">World War 1</a>, who served mostly as porters for European armies on the continent.</em></p><p><em>The production was first performed in London in 2018; its South African premiere was delayed by three years because of the COVID pandemic. It features music by <a href="https://www.philipmiller.co.za/">Philip Miller</a> and <a href="https://www.theheadandtheload.com/ts-bio">Thuthuka Sibisi</a>, choreography by <a href="https://www.gregmaqoma.com/">Gregory Maqoma</a> and an array of stand-out vocalists and musicians. Senior lecturer in theatre Fiona Ramsay asked Kentridge about creating the work.</em></p><p><em><br></em></p><h2>How was the idea for the production hatched?</h2><br><p>The production came from seeing a huge space in New York, the <a href="https://www.armoryonpark.org/about_us">Park Avenue Armory</a>, which I was invited to do a performance in. It’s an old military structure 85 metres long – so the idea came for a processional piece using that length, connected to the military. And that brought us back to the idea of the First World War. I’d worked on the war on the opera <a href="https://www.kentridge.studio/projects/wozzeck/">Wozzeck</a> and had worked with actors and dancers in Johannesburg thinking about this other production.</p><p>So we came to the idea of the relationship of Europe to Africa with war, and the most interesting for me was the First World War. It was a war between France and Britain against Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but it was also – and this was much less appreciated – a war between those European countries as to who would get to own which countries in Africa.</p><p>In 1884 at the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/berlin-conference">Berlin Conference</a> the European countries had divided up all of Africa between themselves and one can see the First World War as a battle to rearrange who got which colonies.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995183/fill/700x0/head_20and_20the_20load_202.jpeg?timestamp=1682010617">Image: A scene from the performance. Source: <a href="https://www.theheadandtheload.com/" target="_blank">The Head and the Load</a></div><p><br></p><h2>What did you find out about Africans in WW1?</h2><br><p>Only 40 years after the war did the nationalist movements in the different African colonies come to a confidence and a strength to challenge Europe and gain their <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/western-Africa/The-formation-of-African-independence-movements">independence</a> in the 1960s. So the idea was to look at this hidden history of Africa in the First World War.</p><p>In this war there are <a href="https://en.unesco.org/courier/news-views-online/first-world-war-and-its-consequences-africa">estimated</a> now to have been over 150,000 African casualties and over a million African participants, some of them soldiers, some labourers carrying war material and some the civilians caught up in this disruption of their lives. And our piece is very much about the people who physically carried the guns, the cannons, even the dismantled ships from the Cape coast up to the lakes of central east Africa where the main battles were fought for the entire length of the First World War.</p><p>And it’s a history that was hidden because the colonial powers did not want to acknowledge the validity and worth of their colonial subjects. So an <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-the-first-world-war-rewarded-white-south-africans-but-not-black-compatriots-106102">example from South Africa</a>: African soldiers were never allowed to bear rifles, African soldiers did not get medals, African soldiers were not included in the victory parades at the end of the war.</p><p>South African writer and intellectual <a href="https://theconversation.com/remembering-sol-plaatje-as-south-africas-original-public-educator-65979">Sol Plaatje</a> <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/sites/default/files/Native%20Life%20in%20South%20Africa_0.pdf">wrote</a>:</p><blockquote><p>Lest their behaviour should merit recognition; their heroic deeds and acts should not be recorded.</p></blockquote><p>And the Head & the Load is an attempt to note their actions and give recognition and record them. So at the end we have a list of names of the people that died, the names that were never written on any war memorial. They were not inscribed in stone in the way that so many European names are, both in Europe and in the former colonies.</p><p><br></p><h2>How do you achieve the combination of so many art forms?</h2><br><p>So, this was the raw material we worked with in order to make the piece. We had written histories like the censored <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7722/j.ctt1x71q0">letter</a> of Malawian pastor and revolutionary <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Chilembwe">John</a> <a href="https://theconversation.com/john-chilembwe-a-new-statue-celebrates-malawi-pan-africanist-the-world-forgot-197450">Chilembwe</a> to the local newspaper opposing the recruitment of Africans into a war which was not their war. We used that letter as part of our text. And there are <a href="https://mg.co.za/article/1997-06-13-the-tale-of-the-kilt/">dances</a> done in the north of South Africa in skirts, based on the kilts of Scottish soldiers. This mixture of African dance and military drilling is still performed today, a remnant of the war. So that comes into it and is performed in one moment.</p><p>There was a lot of material to do with languages not being understood, so we used the avant-garde European <a href="https://www.masterclass.com/articles/dadaism-guide">Dada art movement</a> from the time of the First World War, to play with impossible languages – of Europe not hearing Africa, of Africa not understanding what Europe was saying, of an incomprehensibility of different worlds meeting.</p><p>So some things are done with dance, some things are done with voice – with the voice for example we take a familiar song like the British national anthem God Save the King. It starts being sung as a straightforward anthem but bit by bit it is disintegrated and taken apart until the singers are saying, “Who is this king?”, “What is this king over the seas?”, “We have our own kings!” even as you hear remnants of God Save the King.</p><p>So we used all these mediums to try to make a collage of experience for a viewer watching the play. The performance was constructed out of fragments and the final story gets constructed by the viewer in the same way history is made up of fragments … this piece of information – not that piece of information … this person’s story – not that person’s story …</p><p>History is always a simplification, always an obscuring of the complexities and hidden histories that are in all retelling of events in the past.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995184/fill/700x0/head_20and_20the_20load.jpeg?timestamp=1682010669">Image: A scene from the performance. Source: <a href="https://www.theheadandtheload.com/" target="_blank">The Head and the Load</a> </div><p><br></p><h2>Where did the title come from?</h2><br><p>“The head and the load are the troubles of the neck” is a proverb from Ghana. It implies that there is both the physical load on the shoulders and a historical load of history which is borne by people going through the world. And there is a psychic load – the sense of being ignored, of being silenced, of being invisible. All of these are pressures on people both at the time of the war and, in many cases, still continuing today. It is these weights and loads the production addresses.</p><p><em>The Head & The Load is <a href="https://www.joburgtheatre.com/the-head-and-the-load/">on stage</a> in Johannesburg from 21 April to 6 May.</em></p><p><em><br></em></p><p><em><br></em></p><p><i></i>Related articles:<br></p><div class="media clearfix">
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</p><p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>urn:uuid:454b4547-e234-4067-abc9-1180d79b1c842023-04-20T11:57:29-04:002023-04-20T11:58:33-04:00My favourite fictional character: Queenie, a young Black woman living and dating in London, is ‘complex, funny, broken, fun’2023-04-21 14:00:00 -0400The Conversation via Reuters Connect<p>Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/@eyeforebony?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Eye for Ebony</a> on <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/OExQjtxbIpE?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText">Unsplash</a><br></p><p><br></p><p>Early in the pandemic, I looked after my niece because she had conjunctivitis and couldn’t go to daycare. Despite my best efforts, I caught it. My infection morphed into tonsillitis and I became very sick. I couldn’t read or watch TV properly – which everyone knows are the only pleasures of being sick. So I downloaded the audiobook of <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/candice-carty-williams/queenie-british-book-awards-book-of-the-year">Queenie</a> by Candice Carty-Williams and listened in bed with my eyes closed.</p><p>Before long, I found myself pausing the book to leave myself croaky, semi-lucid voice notes as I fell in love with Queenie Jenkins. (I should have known, in the middle of my PhD on rom-com, I’ll never read commercial fiction solely for pleasure again.)</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995161/fill/700x0/candice_20carty-williams.jpeg?timestamp=1682005845">Image: Candice Carty-Williams Source: <a href="http://candicecartywilliams.com/">candicecartywilliams.com</a></div><p><br></p><h2>Bridget Jones meets Americanah</h2><br><p>Popularly billed as “<a href="https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781529057072/">Bridget Jones</a> meets <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780007356348/americanah/">Americanah</a>”, <i>Queenie </i>is the story of a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, working at a national newspaper, and navigating life after a messy breakup with long-term boyfriend Tom.</p><p><i>Queenie </i>opens in a gynaecologist’s office with a nurse performing an internal exam. It’s got a real chick-lit feel to it – for two paragraphs. But when the nurse brings a doctor into the room for a second opinion, you can feel the shift that indicates this isn’t just another fluffy, formulaic rom-com.</p><p><i>Queenie</i> is written by Candice Carty-Williams, a British writer of Jamaican and Indian heritage. Carty-Williams <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/candice-carty-williams-hope">comes from a publishing background</a>. She started out with internships that led her to HarperCollins UK, where she worked as a marketing assistant at the 4th Estate imprint. (Incidentally, early in my own career, I was a publishing assistant for 4th Estate in Australia.)</p><p>She was then promoted to marketing executive and started a short-story program for Black, Asian and minority ethnic writers to help them get published and/or represented by agents. She went on to work at Penguin, where she was a mentor for the <a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/company/creative-responsibility/writenow">Write Now</a> program, a fellowship for underrepresented voices – the Australian equivalent is Penguin’s <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/news/3065-write-it-fellowship-recipients-2021">Write It</a> fellowship (which I was a winner of, along with three other authors, in 2021).</p><p>Carty-Williams left publishing in 2019, the year <i>Queenie</i> was published. The point of all this (aside from telling you how my life parallels Carty-Williams’) is to make sure you know she worked in marketing.</p><p>Let’s go back to the marketing tagline on <i>Queenie</i>: “Bridget Jones’s Diary Meets Americanah”.</p><p>Carty-Williams <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/feb/08/candice-carty-williams-interview-queenie">says</a>:</p><blockquote><p><i>I was working as a marketer in publishing and I thought this was going to be a hard sell because there hadn’t been any books like it. Bridget Jones is the closest. Also, most fiction by Black authors gets pigeonholed into literary fiction. I wanted Queenie to be widely read and understood.</i></p></blockquote><p>While<i> Queenie</i> is billed as commercial fiction and has a slew of pull quotes all over the cover – from writers like Candace Bushnell, JoJo Moyes, and Dolly Alderton – the story does not shy away from what it’s really like to be a young Black woman in a country like Britain.</p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn2.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995159/fill/700x0/queenie.jpg?timestamp=1682004984">Cover for <i>Queenie. </i>Source:<a href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51JHQ3s7NwL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg" target="_blank">Amazon</a></div><p><br></p><h2>Living and dating as a young Black woman</h2><br><p>Throughout this book,<i> Queenie</i> navigates <a href="https://theconversation.com/hook-ups-pansexuals-and-holy-connection-love-in-the-time-of-millennials-and-generation-z-182226">dating</a> as a Black Woman, living in a Black body, and what it’s like to straddle two cultures while never really feeling as though you fit.</p><p>It explores the complications of accessing <a href="https://theconversation.com/mental-distress-is-rising-especially-for-low-income-middle-aged-women-medicare-needs-a-major-shakeup-to-match-need-184635">mental health care</a> when your culture doesn’t believe mental health is an illness – and it explores sexual health, too. It deals with young women not knowing how to say no, or express their boundaries. It deals with some really, really unhealthy dating habits. And it does not gloss over the pain and the politics of life as a Black woman.</p><p>“I was in pain,” Queenie thinks at one point. “This is what you get when you push love away. This is what you’re left with …”</p><p>Sometimes it seems as though commercial fiction suffers from lack of complexity: if characterisation strays too far into reality – especially the reality of living in a racialised body – it loses commercial appeal.</p><p>White women no longer want to read it, because the aspirational appeal has gone. They can’t see themselves in the protagnoist.</p><p>With that tagline, Carty-Williams has made sure Queenie, with all her complexities, will make it into the hands of every reader. And those complexities are why she added a disclaimer to her tagline, <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/books/candice-carty-williams-queenie-representation-sex/259605">in an interview</a> soon after the book was published:</p><blockquote><p><i>everyone has made the comparison to a Black Bridget Jones. That’s how I thought of her in the beginning, too. But this book is also naturally political just because of who Queenie is. She’s not Bridget Jones. She could never be.</i></p></blockquote><p>Though there’s a lot of darkness and pain in Queenie’s life, the book is funny, and joyful too. And its status as commercial fiction allows a wide range of readers to see that.</p><p>Queenie has some amazing friends, and her family is bonkers and loving – even though you want to throttle them at times. Like when Queenie tells her grandmother she’s not feeling well, clearly having a panic attack, and her grandmother’s solution is to force her to eat fish fingers and soggy toast – feeding being the family’s “unofficial motto”.</p><p>“I didn’t ask if you were hungry, I said <em>have you eaten</em>?”</p><p>Queenie is the sort of person I could see myself being friends with. She’s the sort of character I’d like to write someday – complex, funny, broken, fun – and that’s why I love her.</p><p>“I saw a cleaner mopping up some sick in the hallway, why don’t you get him in here to have a look as well?” Queenie asks as two doctors and a nurse peer inside her during a gynaecological exam.</p><p>The book’s tagline is something else entirely. When I started work on my own rom-com novel, someone told me that in the future it probably wouldn’t be sold by publishers as rom-com. It’s Black, it’s bisexual, the main character is fat. “It will probably be sold as literary fiction. Or maybe queer romance,” they said.</p><p>I think I’m going to have tagline powers written into my own contract. “<a href="https://www.anitaheiss.com/shop/manhattan-dreaming/ad05">Manhattan Dreaming</a> meets the <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-need-a-sitter-revisiting-girlhood-feminism-and-diversity-in-the-baby-sitters-club-139767">Baby-Sitters’ Club</a>” has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p> </p><p><br></p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>urn:uuid:eb78fcad-65a5-4c7e-95b1-c77c6be439bd2023-04-19T15:14:25-04:002023-04-20T11:18:02-04:004 lessons from Serena Williams for sportswomen in Africa2023-04-21 12:00:00 -0400The Conversation via Reuters Connect<p>Serena Williams in 2020. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Serena_Williams_in_2020#/media/File:Serena-Smiling-2020.png" target="_blank">Wikmedia Commons</a><br></p><p><em><br></em></p><p><em>US icon <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Serena-Williams">Serena Williams</a>, considered one of the greatest tennis players of all time, is <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/serena-williams-retirement-in-her-own-words">retiring</a> from professional tennis. Williams has won 23 grand slam singles titles, more than any <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/280390/female-tennis-players-with-the-most-victories-at-grand-slam-tournaments/">other woman</a> or <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/263034/male-tennis-players-with-the-most-victories-at-grand-slam-tournaments/">man</a> during the professional era, which began in 1968. Coached by her father, she changed the face of the women’s game. In the process, through speaking frankly about her life and career, she became a role model for many black women around the world. Tennis Kenya secretary general and former player Wanjiru Mbugua Karani recently <a href="https://www.bbc.com/sport/africa/62542976">said</a>: “Serena has been the ‘be-all’ for African tennis, and especially for girls in Africa.” We asked Kenyan political sociologist and gender expert Awino Okech what lessons can be learned for African women in sports when reflecting on Williams’ career.</em></p><hr><h2><br></h2><h2>1. Public investment in sport pays off</h2><br><p>The story of Serena Williams and her sister <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Venus-Williams">Venus Williams</a>, a fellow star player, is not one of privilege. Serena’s success was initially nurtured at an old public tennis court in her neighbourhood. Her father gathered resources where he could find them to skill his daughters when he saw potential in tennis.</p><p>Across sections of Africa, we see the <a href="https://www.landportal.org/blog-post/2021/02/hands-our-playground-securing-land-rights-kenyan-schools">public divestment</a> in sports through land grabs with public parks converted into office buildings and apartments, thus limiting space for recreation and sports. Secondly, the privatisation of sporting facilities limits public access as people have to pay to use them. Thirdly, the under-resourcing of public schools results in limited, if any, investment in sporting facilities. The result is a class divide that writes out most young Africans from sporting opportunities. African governments need to make greater investments in public sports facilities and programmes targeting girls particularly in contexts where sports is not viewed as a viable career option.</p><p><br></p><h2>2. Racism in sport must be eliminated</h2><br><p>Serena and Venus Williams’ importance to world tennis lies in their being outliers in a sport that has been historically dominated by white women and men. Consequently, Serena’s iconic stature as a tennis star has been coloured by the gender and racial dynamics that have shaped her treatment in the sport. She was subjected to descriptions around her masculinity, aggression, and her power as a player. These are broader racialised tropes that link <a href="https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/feral-savages-post-riot-labelling-of-british-blacks/">Black people to savagery</a> and whiteness to evolved humanity. In the visual and verbal descriptions of Serena in the public media, we saw the use of historically <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/09/11/long-history-behind-racist-attacks-serena-williams/">racialised tropes</a> of the angry Black woman and animalistic caricatures by the media and social media users. This was intended to diminish her capabilities through psychological warfare.</p><p>Anti-Black <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/18/euros-afcon-players-faced-racist-homophobic-abuse-online">racism in sport</a> has been the subject of public debates and investigations. <a href="https://digitalhub.fifa.com/m/58e4c303ca2197f5/original/FIFA-Threat-Matrix-Report.pdf">One study</a> revealed that Black football players who missed penalties were the most abused players in the Euro 2020 championship final stage.</p><p>In Serena’s case, these experiences sit at the intersection of gender and race. All women share the experience of sexism – from pay disparities to the lack of attention to women’s sports compared to men’s. However, the combination of race and gender doubles the battle that Serena Williams and other international athletes like South African sprinting champion <a href="https://catalystjournal.org/index.php/catalyst/article/view/28800/21401">Caster Semenya</a> must contend with. Serena <a href="https://www.dailysabah.com/sports/tennis/underpaid-undervalued-serena-williams-highlights-racism-in-tennis">took a stand</a>. She <a href="https://www.insider.com/venus-serena-williams-indian-wells-boycott-before-naomi-osaka-incident-2022-3">withdrew from and boycotted</a> events such as the BNP Paribas Open in California because of racial slurs from the crowd.</p><p>The race problem in sports – which becomes visible through online abuse, spectator behaviour and overall sports management – is reflective of a broader problem. The anti-Black character of racism experienced by Serena will not be solved by more representation of Black women but by a systemic reckoning that challenges how race and gender disparities are entrenched in the DNA of competitive sport.<br><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p>Racism in the soccer industry is not new to the world. However, its persistence, and the lack of infrastructure put behind reform, begs the question: does the European soccer industry lov... <span class="pull-right"><a href="/2021/05/12/356156/throwing-bananas-lack-of-progress-in-racism-towards-african-african-diasporan-soccer-players-and-redirection-of-focus">Read More »</a></span> </p>
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<p> </p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="//cdn1.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995156/fill/700x0/Serena_Williams__Open_Door__01.jpeg?timestamp=1682003354">Image: Serena Williams being interviewed at home. Source: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Serena_Williams,_Open_Door,_01.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a></div><p><br></p><h2>3. We need to talk about mental health in women’s sport</h2><br><p>Sexism and racism accompanied by the intense public scrutiny in competitive sport have drawn attention to the critical question of mental health. We are now witnessing a generation of younger athletes such as Japanese tennis star <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/57310701">Naomi Osaka</a> and US gymnastics champion <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/07/simone-biles-olympics-mental-health-athletes/#:%7E:text=United%20States%20gymnast%20Simone%20Biles,up%20about%20their%20mental%20health.">Simone Biles</a> taking a stand. They have at times chosen mental wellbeing over participating in high pressured competitions. Serena Williams has played an important role in creating the space for a tennis player like Osaka to speak out.</p><p>These acts of courage take place in an environment in which a discussion on mental wellbeing is construed as weakness. They focus attention on a neglected area in sports, the need for a holistic health system that supports the pressure cooker environment of elite sports. The <a href="https://www.k24tv.co.ke/lifestyle/conjestina-achiengs-son-66357/#:%7E:text=Conjestina%20was%20diagnosed%20with%20schizoaffective,to%20others%20and%20perceives%20reality.">case</a> of Kenyan middleweight boxer Conjestina Achieng, the first African woman to hold an international boxing title, is illustrative. Achieng, who was diagnosed with mental illness, has been failed by a broader public health system. One that allocates too few resources to training mental health experts and providing specialist services in public hospitals.</p><p>The limited options available for athletes in the global south points to the destruction of public health systems <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7223727/">due to privatisation</a>. In Kenya, for example, failed public healthcare is a legacy of policies promoting <a href="https://idl-bnc-idrc.dspacedirect.org/bitstream/handle/10625/25742/IDL-25742.pdf">historical inequality</a> which continue under <a href="https://dawnnet.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/DAWN-DP-25_MEDICAL-EQUIPMENT-LEASING-IN-KENYA_NEO-COLONIAL-GLOBAL-FINANCE-AND-MISPLACED-HEALTH-PRIORITIES.pdf">the veneer of</a> public private partnerships. A conversation about mental health in sports is fundamentally a public policy discussion about economic investment in health systems.</p><p><br></p><h2>4. Sportswomen deserve a more secure future</h2><br><p>Serena’s exit from tennis is accompanied by a financial exit strategy – <a href="https://www.serenaventures.com/">Serena Ventures</a>, a venture capital firm. The financial security built of decades of success in a sport does not translate in the same way in contexts shaped by vast economic disparities. Serena’s context shows what needs to change.</p><p>In Kenya, coupled with the pressures of competitive sport, women athletes are also dealing with the silence around intimate partner violence in the sports fraternity – highlighted by the murders of athletes <a href="https://www.africanews.com/2021/10/15/husband-arrested-in-killing-of-olympic-runner-agnes-tirop/">Agnes Tirop</a> and <a href="https://www.africanews.com/2022/04/20/another-female-athlete-killed-in-kenya/">Damaris Muthee</a>.</p><p>There are three interlocked issues here. The first is the absence of strong financial advice and support to athletes over the course of their careers. The second is the vast societal inequalities that create undue pressure on young athletes who come into money to support their families financially. Finally, the combination of class and gender demands that femicide and intimate partner violence are taken as seriously by sports associations as they do anti-doping campaigns.</p><p>Serena Williams’ journey of excellence and fortitude also shines a light on the negative outcomes that sit at the intersection of race, gender and class in sports specifically and society generally. As we hail the “Greatest of All Time”, African governments must take heed of the structural shifts required in our sports arena.</p><p><br></p><p>Related articles:</p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>urn:uuid:d5e371a7-de74-4b24-ba95-5666a10f03be2023-04-19T15:12:54-04:002023-04-19T15:42:41-04:00Noni Jabavu was a pioneering South African writer - a new book shows how relevant she still is2023-04-21 10:00:00 -0400The Conversation via Reuters Connect<p>Image: Noni Jabavu. Source: <a href="https://twitter.com/SALA_Awards/status/1035124393272336385" target="_blank">Twitter | SALA_Awards</a></p><p><em><br></em></p><p><em>Noni Jabavu was the first Black South African woman to publish memoirs and one of the first African women to pursue a literary career abroad. She left the country as a teenager to pursue an education and returned intermittently throughout her life. She returned to South Africa in 1977 to research her father’s biography. Some of her best known work became the witty, insightful and politically charged columns she wrote for the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/daily-dispatch">Daily Dispatch newspaper</a>. But this pioneering figure had been all but forgotten until writer and academic Makhosazana Xaba and historian Athambile Masola focused their attention on her life and work. Now they have released a book of Jabavu’s columns, called <a href="https://www.nb.co.za/en/view-book/?id=9780624089360">Noni Jabavu: A Stranger at Home</a>. We asked Masola about the writer.</em></p><hr><h2><br></h2><h2>Who was Noni Jabavu?</h2><br><p>Noni Jabavu was born in 1919 in Alice, the then-Cape province of South Africa. South Africa had become the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/constructing-union-south-africa-negotiations-contestations-1902-10#:%7E:text=In%201910%2C%20the%20South%20Africa,the%20Union%20of%20South%20Africa.">Union of South Africa in 1910</a> and the devastating <a href="https://www.gov.za/1913-natives-land-act-centenary#:%7E:text=The%20Act%20became%20law%20on,employees%20of%20a%20white%20master.">Native Land Act was passed in 1913</a> which exacerbated the displacement of Africans in the region. She was the eldest daughter of <a href="https://www.geni.com/people/Thandiswa-Makiwane/6000000029288531542">Florence Thandiswa Jabavu (born Makiwane)</a> and <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/davidson-don-tengo-jabavu">Don Davidson Tengo Jabavu</a>. Her mother was one of the pioneers of the <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/1514945">Zenzele</a> self-help groups for women in rural areas. Her parents were prominent figures who often appeared in newspapers and public platforms.</p><p>Her father was a politician, writer, and academic at Fort Hare College (present day University of Fort Hare). The college was extremely important as a space for black thinkers and African leaders. She comes from a network of families who were the pioneers in African modernity through their links at <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/lovedale-missionary-school#:%7E:text=Lovedale%20was%20established%20in%201824,Blacks%20around%20the%20Thyume%20Valley%20">Lovedale</a>, <a href="https://www.ru.ac.za/facultyofhumanities/resources/alumniarticles/healdtownundertheeagleswings.html">Healdtown</a>, Fort Hare and travels abroad. These early intellectuals, teachers, and journalists shaped the cultural exchange as early recipients of missionary education while holding onto African traditions.</p><p>She left South Africa aged 13 for Mount School, a girls boarding school in York, England. She writes about this departure in her columns where she meets <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/people/general-jan-christiaan-smuts">Jan Smuts</a> whom she describes as “Oom Jan”. It is at his house where she meets Arthur Gillet and Margaret Clarke who would be her guardians while she is abroad. In her columns she explains that her family in England were “English tycoons, upper class, bankers, industrialists, conservative liberals”. She remained in England and studied further until her education was disrupted by World War II. It was also during this period where she worked for the BBC radio. In 1941 she married her first husband and a year later gave birth to her daughter Tembi.<br></p><p>Her literary career began while she was in England when her first memoir, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58991674-drawn-in-colour">Drawn in Colour</a>, was published in 1960. The success of this publication precipitated her appointment as the editor of the <i>New Strand</i>, a literary magazine published in London. This made her the first woman and black person to hold this position in 1961. Her appointment was so significant that she was featured in <a href="https://www.ebony.com/" target="_blank"><i>Ebony Magazine</i></a>. An Italian translation of the book was published in 1962, further demonstrating an interest in her work. In 1963 her second memoir was published, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/2003918">The Ochre People</a>. Throughout her life she lived in <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2021/10/08/371224/breaking-generational-curses-reflecting-on-jennifer-nansubuga-makumbi-s-kintu-for-uganda-independence-day" target="_blank">Uganda</a>, <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2020/08/06/324137/celebrating-jamaican-independence-day" target="_blank">Jamaica</a>, <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2021/12/11/377940/17-kenyan-proverbs-to-inspire-wisdom-this-season" target="_blank">Kenya</a>, <a href="https://www.funtimesmagazine.com/2021/04/18/353300/mugabe-the-intellectual-the-monster-and-the-legacy-zimbabwe-independence-day" target="_blank">Zimbabwe</a> to mention a few. In writing she explains the effects of her transnational life on her life as a writer. She returned to South Africa in 2002 and passed away in 2008 while living at the Lynette Elliott Frail Care Home in East London.</p><p><br></p><h2>Why is she important?</h2><br><p>Noni Jabavu’s life is significant because she was a pioneer writer both in South Africa and abroad during the 1960s. Much of her adult life was spent traversing the world, making her part of a network of transnational writers. She crafted a literary career which was unusual for women in the 1960s. Her career inspired the likes of Margaret Busby (editor of <a href="https://granta.com/on-meeting-margaret-busby/">Daughters of Africa</a> who became the first black woman to enter publishing as a career in London. On one of her visits home to work on her father’s biography, Jabavu began writing for the <i>Daily Dispatch</i>. She contributed 49 columns to the Daily Dispatch. Her readers were varied and openly shocked by the cheekiness and forthright opinions she held in her columns. They were particularly fascinated by her unconventional love life and the friends she mentioned in her columns. This was a tumultuous period in South Africa with the <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/june-16-soweto-youth-uprising">1976 student uprising</a> and the <a href="https://daily.jstor.org/the-death-of-steve-biko-revisited/">death of Steve Biko</a> in 1977.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><div class="image-main"><img alt="" src="https://cdn3.locable.com/uploads/resource/file/995027/fill/700x0/noni_20jabavu.png?timestamp=1681932294">Image: cover for <i>A Stranger at Home</i> Source: NB Publishers</div><p><br></p><p><br></p><h2>How did you come to be interested in her columns?</h2><br><p>We were both working on long term projects on Noni Jabavu. Makhosazana Xaba began working on Noni Jabavu while she was pursuing her Masters in Creative Writing in 2006. I began my research in 2017 and much of my research is possible because of Makhosazana Xaba’s work. Many people became increasingly interested in our work but it was frustrating that both her memoirs were out of print. It seemed that one of the ways of addressing this was to garner interest around a collection of her columns which would hopefully ensure that there would be a renewed interest in her work. The columns also presented a different genre to the memoirs she was known for.</p><div class="image-main"><br><br></div><h2>What does she address in the columns?</h2><br><p>Jabavu’s columns present a variety of themes ranging from the political commentary of the 1970s, to a nostalgia of the life she missed out on as someone who had lived abroad since she was 13 when she left for boarding school in England. She writes about the everyday concerns of a black woman living with apartheid in columns such as “Getting used to colour again”, and “The Special Branch Call”. She addresses the absurdity of apartheid head on. Her columns are also quirky and playful with reference to her love life which her readers are curious about. In “Why I’m not marrying” she responds to readers who “ask me in friendship rather than enmity to tell you more about my personal love life, I respond. Nothing in it to hide”.</p><p><br></p><h2>Why do her columns matter today?</h2><br><p>This collection is historic. Jabavu had planned to compile such a book herself as she shared in a letter to a friend, but this didn’t happen. These columns demonstrate that Noni Jabavu’s concerns from 1970s are still relevant today. Her family’s friendships with politicians such as Jan Smuts as well as upper class English peers complicates how we think about our history and the nature of friendships and race relations. Her frankness about not wanting to marry again is reflective in many women’s choices today who choose not to marry and pursue their careers and friendships instead.</p><p>By reintroducing her to a new audience almost 50 years since the columns were published the collection also poses questions about who is remembered and why. This collection is a restorative project in response to the erasure of black women’s writing. Only one of Jabavu’s books was published in South Africa in 1982 (<i>The Ochre People</i>). This is only the second. These gaps in our knowledge of black women’s intellectual labour need to be addressed in order to have a better sense of our history.</p><p><em>The book is <a href="https://www.nb.co.za/en/view-book/?id=9780624089360">published</a> by NB Publishers\</em></p><p><em><br></em></p><p><em><br></em></p><p><i></i>Related articles:<br></p><div class="media clearfix">
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<p> </p><hr /><p><small>Original article published at <a href="www.funtimesmagazine.com">FunTimes Magazine</a></small></p>