What’s R. Kelly doing at the World Cup? This is one of the biggest world events and they let R. Kelly perform?
R. Kelly’s new song “Sign of a Victory” is chosen as one of the three official 2010 FIFA World Cup anthems. Kelly and the South African group the Soweto Spiritual Singers, will perform “Victory” at the June 11 opening ceremony in Johannesburg.
I know Mr Kelly was never convicted of having, how shall I put it .., "indecent video material", but I when I heard of it I never listened to his music again.
Couldn’t they have chosen someone who is more ..., how shall I put it, in line with modern international Black standards.
Nelson Mandela will not attend the opening World Cup match as his family grieved the death of great grandchild Zenani, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said on Friday.
The statesman said that it would be "inappropriate" to be present after Zenani Mandela, 13, was killed in a car accident in the early hours of Friday morning as she returned home from a World cup concert near Johannesburg. Read full story here
Video: South African World Cup 2010 and Nelson Mandela.
Picture: "In IJsselstein we speak Dutch." A sign in a city near Utrecht where a lot of Moroccan people live.
BBC: A Dutch anti-Islam party has more than doubled its seats in parliament in a national vote, though it is unclear if it will take part in a coalition.
Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders said he wanted to be part of government.
The election saw the centre-right Liberal Party (VVD) emerging as the largest party, one seat ahead of the centre-left Labour Party. The Christian Democrat party of outgoing Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende suffered a big defeat.
Weeks of coalition negotiations are expected to follow the election. With more than 99% of votes counted, the VVD had 31 of 150 seats, while Labour had 30.
As the party with the most seats, VVD leader Mark Rutte could now become the first prime minister from his political camp since World War I. Read more here
The PVV is the party of Geert Wilders, the one who toured the world with the Anti-Islam film “Fitna”. The slogan of the PVV: Less immigration, less crime, less Islam:
But who are the voters of the PVV? It seems that most voters are from the South of the Netherlands (which is a part of the bible belt). And also that a lot of voters are from small towns where there is hardly any "diversity".
Some facts about the PVV
- The party is a foundation, and not a normal political party with members. You can’t vote in this party. Wilders is the one and only chairman of the foundation. - Some Black people have voted for the PVV. They believe that Wilders is anti-Islam and not anti-immigrant or anti-Black. In the Netherlands Moroccans are not seen as “black community”, but as an "Arab" community. - A black Antillean man will also be elected for parliament for the PVV.
My opinion
I've seen The Netherlands transform from a tolerant country into an intolerant country. I really hope it will change some day.
Estelle has announced that she will be bringing her stunning live show to Cool Britannia festival in Cape Town on the June 11th – on the evening of the tournaments opening day and to launch what is set to be a spectacular month long party at the game’s greatest tournament.
Paris-born Martiniquean photographer David Damoison has a photo exhibition till July 31th 2010 in the gallery Anne de Villepois in Paris.
This exhibition is the third and final exhibit of the 3X3 series which offeres the public a chance to discover three Caribbean artists.
Now what is so interesting about this exhibition? The intriguing photos of Hatian people and their the voodoo rituals .The scenes of rough night live in Brazzaville Congo. And the photos of somewhat lost French Carribean folks in urban Paris. You can see all of his photographs on his website http://damoison.com/.
If you want to explore this you may want to try the following steps. One: Website of David Damoison http://damoison.com/
Ten years ago Afro-German Alberto Adriano was brutally killed by three Nazi youths in a park in the Eastern German city of Dessau. To commemorate Adriano, a commemorative event, a memorial concert and a conference will be held on 11 and 12 June in Dessau.
In the evening of June 11the 2000 Alberto Adriano was brutally murdered by three drunken neo-Nazis. They told the police they did it because they hated foreigners.
Alberto Adriano - who had lived and worked in Germany for more than 20 years - had been celebrating a forthcoming trip to Mozambique. Read the full story: Race hate in Germany (BBC)
And photos of the funeral of Adriano, and of East Germany in 2000 here.
In 2001 the German Anti-Racism organisation "Brothers Keepers" made the single "Adriano – Letzte Warnung“, ("Adriano - Final Warning").
A state court sentenced one man to life in prison and two 16-year-old skinhead accomplices to nine years each for the murder of a 39-year-old immigrant from Mozambique.
Black race-hate victims in Europe:
Kerwin Duinmijer (20 August 1983) - Netherlands Stephen Lawrence (22 April 1993) - UK Alberto Adriano (11 June 2000) – Germany
When it comes to pursuing higher education, most African students prefer Germany, France or the UK
About 77 per cent of all African students who study abroad do so in Europe while 18 per cent of all foreign students in Europe are from Africa, according to a report.
It also said out of about 144 million students who enrolled in institutions of higher education, about 3 million of them migrated from the Africa sub-region to Europe.
Prof Goolam Mohamedbhai, Secretary-General of the Association of African Universities (AAU), said this at a workshop in Accra. The event which brought together about 80 representatives of senior leadership and management personalities from Africa and Europe, explored how higher education institutions in both regions cope with the changing demands of their specific socio-economic environments.
Mohamedbhai said three European countries that received the largest number of the foreign students were the United Kingdom, Germany and France accounting for about 30 per cent. (Source: Pune Mirror.in)
Suzanna Lubrano has won the award for “Best African Artist based in the Diaspora” at the Museke Online Africa Music Awards (MOAMAs) 2010. The winners were selected based on African music fan votes. Voting took place from April 6 to May 29, 2010 on http://awards.museke.com
Suzanna Lubrano is a Netherlands (Rotterdam) based Zouk artist. If you're not into Zouk, Kizomba or Afro-Portuguese music you probably would not know that Lubrano has won the Kora All African Music Award for Best African Female Artist in 2003. The Kora Awards are music awards given annually for musical achievement in sub-Saharan Africa. They are comparable to the American Grammy Awards in intent.
Lubrano performing in the Netherlands
And you probably would not know that she received the award in a live TV show which was watched by over more then 600 million people. (Source: NPS)
This summer, Suzanna Lubrano will have many performances in Africa. Shows are coming up in Angola, Cape Verde, São Tomé and Príncipe and elsewhere.
Other shows will take place in Europe and USA, among them June 18 in Rotterdam and June 25 in London (IndigO2, with Yuri da Cunha).
From Der Schwarze Blog: The German Theatre ensemble Label Noir will peform the play “Heimat, bittersüße Heimat” ("Homeland, Bittersweet Homeland") on 4-6 June in the Hoftheater in Berlin.
A theater group is challenging Germany's assumptions about race, culture and identity with a courageous new production that sheds light on the black German experience of everyday racism.
"My, but you speak excellent German - flawless grammar, perfect accent. Keep up the good work!"
The elderly lady with a prim hat and pursed lips tries to compliment the young black woman sitting on the park bench beside her, but her praise backfires when it's obvious that she can hardly grasp the notion that a person of color can be German at the same time. This scene is one of a dizzying array of sketches that combine humor and poignant realism to mirror part of the black/Afro-German experience with unsettling clarity.
"Heimat, bittersuesse Heimat" - which translates to "Homeland, Bittersweet Homeland" - blends scenes of daily life with satirical theater. The actors play themselves as well as their white fellow citizens, whose well-meaning questions and remarks often come across as ignorant, invasive and presumptuous.
Audience reactions to the racist gaffes on stage ranged from hushed embarrassment to howls of laughter.
"If you have black friends, they're just laughing," said Vanessa Rottenburg, who plays the Afro-German in the park bench scene, "because their reaction is: 'Oh yeah, I know that grandma.'" Read the full story of the Deutsch Welle here
The Paris Jazz Festival is an annual summer event which presents a programme of free concerts in the surroundings of the Parc Floral. Concerts take place every Saturday and Sunday throughout June and July.
On July 25 Sandra Nkaké (15H00) and Richard Bona (16H30) will perform on the main stage.
The concerts begin at 3pm and are free to all those who have paid the standard park entry fee. Arrive early to ensure that you get one of the 1500 seats available.
Dave Benton was the first black singer to win the Eurovision Song Contest. Dave Benton, together with Estonian rock singer Tanel Padar and boyband 2XL, won Eurovision Song Contest for Estiona in 2001.
Benton was born on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba in 1951 and in his 20s moved to the United States. As a drummer and a backing vocalist, he worked with The Drifters, Tom Jones, Billy Ocean, José Feliciano and the Platters. (Source wikipedia).
This is the last post about the Eurovision Song Contest. It was necessary to set the facts strait. The previous post about black singers at the contest is updated with singers from the UK, Sweden and of course Estonia. You can read the post here.
The Eurovison 2010 was won by Germany by the way, see the video of Lena with the song "Satellite" here.
Black singers have participated in the Eurovision Song Contest since 1966. The Eurovision Song Contest is the annual song contest of the European Broadcasting Union and member states of Europe.
The first Black singer who won the contest was Dave Benton, he won the contest with Estonian rock singer Tanel. They represented Estonia in 2001. The first Black singer who performed in the contest was Milly Scott, she represented the Netherlands in 1966. In this year’s contest singer Matador competed for France, he finished 12th place.
The competition is broadcasted throughout Europe, but also in Australia, Canada, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Jordan, Korea, New Zealand and the United States, even though these countries do not participate. See the website of Eurovision Song Contest here.
Below a list of some of the entries of the Estonia, UK, The Netherlands, France, Portugal and Israel. The ranking is based on a final of 25 countries.
Estonia
Winner of Eurovision copenhagen 2001
Dave benton & Tanel - "Everybody" - 2001
In 2001 Dave benton performed with budding Estonian rock singer Tanel Padar and boyband 2XL to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with their song "Everybody". Benton was born on the Dutch Caribbean island of Aruba.
UK
Jade Ewen - "It's My Time" - 2009
The United Kingdom was a part of the "Big Four", so the song was entered directly into the final of the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest, held on 16 May 2009 in Moscow. The show received an average of 7.8 million viewers. She finished in 5th place.
Andy Abraham - "Even If" - 2008
According to betting site PaddyPower.com, the odds for the song to win the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 were 100/1. In the end, the song reached last place at 25th, with 14 points. The last place triggerd a response from Terry Wogan, he blamed "racist" Eastern Europeans for Britain's dismal showing in the Eurovision Song Contest. Read full story here.
Imaani - "Where Are You?" - 1998
"Where Are You?" was the United Kingdom entry to the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, held in Birmingham, United Kingdom. It was sung by Imaani Saleem (Melanie Crosdale), the first black singer for the UK. She almost won. The song received 166 points, placing second in a field of 25. Imaani was born in Nottingham. Interesting detail is that she is one of the regular singers of the famous London Acid Jazz band Incognito.
Germany Silver Convention - Telegram - 1977
Two members of the trio Silver Convention were black: Ramona Wulf (a daugher of an AA soldier and a German) and a New Yorker Rhonda Heath. The group finished 8the place.
Glennis Grace (born in Amsterdam) won the national contest in the Netherlands for the Eurovision song contest 2005, but didn’t make in to final. She had to leave the contest in the semi-final.
Edsilia Rombley - "Hemel en Aarde" ("Heaven and Earth") - 1998
Edsilia Rombley pulled the Netherlands out of semi-finals to the finals. Only the low ranking countries of the previous year had to compete in the semi-finals. In the finals she came in fourth place in a tele voting contest with the song “Hemel en aarde" ("Heaven and earth"). It was the best placing the Netherlands had seen since their last win in 1975. Edisila was born in Amsterdam and is of Dutch Caribbean descent.
Maxine and Franklin Brown- "De Eerste Keer" ("The first time" - 1996
Maxine & Franklin Brown represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 1996. Their song “De eerste keel” (“The First Time”) came 7th with 78 points.
Ruth Jacott - "Vrede" ("Peace") - 1993
In 1993 Ruth Jacott was the second black female singer for the Netherland. She came in sixth place with the “song “Vrede" ("Peace"). Ruth Jaccot is of Surinamese descent.
Humphrey Campbell "Wijs Me de Weg" ("Show Me the Way") - 1992
Humphrey Campbell performing "Wijs Me de Weg" ("Show Me the Way"), the Dutch entry at the 1992 Eurovision Song Contest. He finished 9th place. Campbell is of Surinamese origins.
Milly Scott - "Fernando en Filippo" - 1966
Milly Scott was the first black singer for the Netherlands in 1966. She finished 15th place. Scott is of Surinamese descent.
France
Matador - "Allez Ola Olé" (2010)
Matador, born Jessy Kimbangi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, represented France this year. Matador mixes zouk, dancehall, reggae, and hiphop, building on American, African and Caribbean influences. France finished 12th place.
Joëlle Ursull - "White and Black Blues" - 1990
France's entry in the 1990 Eurovision Song Contest "White and Black Blues" by Joëlle Ursull who got the 2nd place. Usull is of Guadeloupean origins.
France is one of the most successful countries in the Eurovision Song Contest and has entered the competition fifty-two times since their debut at the very first contest in 1956. However, in recent years, the French results have been somewhat disappointing. Since 1998, when the televoting was invented, France has almost always been in the bottom-10 countries in the final. (Wikipedia.)
Portugal
Eduardo Nascimento - "O vento mudou" - 1967
In 1967 Eduardo Nascimento entered the Portuguese Eurovision selection contest, the Festival da Canção, as a solo artist with the song "O vento mudou" ("The Wind Changed"). He won the event by a comfortable margin, and went forward to represent Portugal in the 12th Eurovision Song Contest, held on 8 April in Vienna, where "O vento mudou" finished in joint 12th place of the 17 entries
Sara Tavares – “Chamar a música” -1994
Tavares won the Portuguese selection for the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. With the song Chamar a música (Call my music), She achieved an eighth position in Dublin, which is still one of the best Portuguese results in the contest ever. After her appearance in the contest, she went on to become a famous artist in her country, and later on in Europe.
Sweden
Afro-Dite - "Never let you go" - 2002
Afro-dite is a Swedish pop group made up of three pop singers. The group consists of Blossom Tainton-Lindquist, Gladys del Pilar and Kayo Shekoni. Afro-dite reached the 8th place
Israel
Eddie Butler - "Together We Are One" - 2006
Eddie Butler was the Israeli entry for the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest, with soul ballad "Together We Are One". He finished 23th place.
Butler was born in the Negev Israel. Butler's parents are Americans, and members of the Black Hebrews African-American community that believes they are a lost tribe of Israel. His mother and father came to Israel for a visit 37 years ago and decided to stay.
Black singers Eurovision Song Contest overview
1966 - Netherlands: Milly Scott - "Fernando en Filippo" (15th) 1967 - Portugal: Eduardo Nascimento - "O vento mudou" (12th) 1977 - Germany: Silver Convention - Telegram - (8th) 1981 - Denmark: Debbie Cameron & Tommy Seebach - Krøller eller ej -(11th) 1990 - France: Joëlle Ursull - "White and Black Blues" (2nd) 1992 - France: Kali - "Monté la riviè".-(8th) 1992 - Netherlands: Humphrey Campbell "Wijs Me de Weg" ("Show Me the Way") (9th) 1993 - Netherlands: Ruth Jacott - "Vrede" ("Peace") - 1993 (6th) 1994 - Portugal: Sara Tavares – “Chamar a música” (8th) 1995 - Austria: Stella Jones - Die Welt dreht sich verkehrt. - (13th) 1995 - Portugal: Tó Cruz - Baunilha e chocolate - (21st) 1996 - Netherlands: Maxine and Franklin Brown- "De Eerste Keer" ("The first time") (7th) 1998 - France: Marie-Line - Oú aller? - (23rd) 1998 - Netherlands: - Edsilia Rombley - "Hemel en Aarde" ("Heaven and Earth") 1998 (4th) 1998 - UK: Imaani - "Where Are You?" (2nd) 1999 - Bosnia-Herzegovina: Dino & Béatrice – Putnici -(7th) 1999 - Israel: Eden - Happy Birthday - (5th) 1999 - UK: 1999 - Precious - Say It Again- (12th)Precious - Say It Again- (12th) 2000 - Austria: The Rounder Girls - All To You - (14th) 2001 - Estonia: Dave benton & Tanel - "Everybody" (1st) 2002 - Sweden: Afro-Dite - "Never let you go" (8th) 2005 – UK: Javine -Touch My Fire - (22nd) 2005 - Netherlands: Glennis Grace Netherlands – “My Impossible Dream” (semi-final) 2006 - Isreal: Eddie Butler - "Together We Are One" (23th) 2008 - UK: Andy Abraham - "Even If" (23th) 2009 - UK: Jade Ewen - "It's My Time" - 2009 (5th) 2010 - France: Matador - "Allez Ola Olé" - 2010 (12th)
* At the Eurovision songcontest in 1966 the Swedish singers were accompanied on flute by the Black American jazz musician Sahib Shihab. He is probably the first African-American, who participated in the event.
* This list was updated on 13 May 2014.
This may not be the complete list of singers
See downloadable updated list here
France will try to win the hearts of Europe in Oslo with a real summer hit this year, "Allez Ola Olé". For that they handpicked the charismatic singer Jessy Matador.
Jessy began his artistic career as a dancer in 2001. His artistic concept is a mixture of several styles, inspired by famous African - Ivorian music ranging from hip-hop, jamaican dancehall and zouk.
He made his debut in the group called Les Coeurs Brisés with which he has performed all around the world. He started his singing career in 2008 and has scored a summer hit with the song Decale Gwada. Jessy is currently in the studio finishing his new album. (source BBC)
What’s R. Kelly doing at the World Cup? This is one of the biggest world events and they let R. Kelly perform? 
