Video: DIVERSIDAD - European Urban Experience

A group of European Hip Hop artists came together and created the Experience Album. The Album has been released through a worldwide online distribution and it includes 14 tracks representing the highest level of contemporary European Hip Hop.

Diversidad is a group of famous European MC's, DJ's and beat-makers. 20 artists from 12 different countries speaking 9 different languages came together to create a unique album.



Launched by the European Music Office and supported by the European Commission, a first edition of Diversidad took place in 2008 when a single track was recorded with a dozen of European artists including Akhenaton (FR), Curse (DE), Promoe from Looptroop (SE), Abd Al Malik (FR), Sam The Kid (PT) among others.

Diversidad is back with a full LP created from scratch by a new selection of artists and recorded in just 10 days at the ICP studio in Brussels. The first single “The eXperience” gathers all the MCs on a track produced by Spike Miller.

Since its release in June it has received airplay on many European radio stations. The rest of the songs are combinations of 3 to 6 artists rhyming on different languages about a common theme. From the typical ego-trip track (Go Hard) to the classic love song (Amore Criminale) or from the “jungle” of their European hometowns (Concrete Jungle) to a nostalgic ballad (On My Way), each topic on the album tells the story of young adults living in today’s Europe.

No matter where they’re from, the artists share the same passion for the urban culture and connected around that common love for hip hop. More than a big reunion of nationalities, the Diversidad album is first and foremost a classic hip hop album featuring skilled and talented artists.

Diversidad is not only an album but also a show that will tour across Europe in spring and summer 2011, a graphic art exhibition and a movie series available on www.diversidad-experience.com. The album’s lyrics are available on Diversidad’s website.

Tsunami hits Japan - The day after

My thoughts are with the people of Japan. Sometimes it looks as if we are at the biblical end of days.

Sara Tavares back on tour after recovering from surgery

Photo by Joke Schot
Portuguese singer Sara Tavares was suddenly out of the spotlight. According to Novite.com, in February 2010 Tavares underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour. She cancelled all her professional engagements for an undefined period of time.

But Tavares has recovered and is back on the road. She has announced she will give a concert in Sofia Bulgaria on May 14. The concert will be part of her tour "Xinti", which presents her last album.

"Ponto de Luz" from the album Xinti ('Feel it')


"Balance" Alive in Lisboa dvd


The 33-year-old singer, guitarist and percussionist was born and raised in Lisbon, Portugal. She is a second-generation Portuguese of Cape Verdean descent and she composes African, Portuguese and North American influenced world music.

Album Balancê

In 2006 World Connection interviewed Sara Tavares about her album Balancê, you can read a part of the very interesting interview below.

“There is a big, big generation of Cape Verdeans and other Africans here in Lisbon, in Paris, in Boston, all over… with a kind of messed-up identity,” says Lisbon’s twenty-seven year old Sara Tavares, “Our generation feels very lost because there is no culture specifically for us; that talks about our reality.”

“When I walk around with my friends, it’s a very, very interesting community,” Tavares explains. “We speak Portuguese slang, Angolan slang, some words in Cape Verdean Crioulo, and of course some English. In Crioulo there are already English and French words. This is because slaves from all over the world had to communicate and didn’t speak the same languages. We are a metisse culture.”

Multilingual wordplay shows up throughout Tavares’ album, and she hops across cultural references as much as she embraces any. The album title Balancê—pronounced bal-on-SAY—has many different meanings. The noun balanço is used in Portuguese when music “swings.” Lusophone Africans use the verb form balancê in a more general way. “When you are eating something really good you say ‘this food is balancê!’” explains Tavares.

“For me song ‘Balancê’ is also about balancing yourself,” Tavares continues, “between sadness and joy; day and night; salt and sugar. It’s about balancing emotions. You are always walking a thin line and you have to keep your balance. You have to dance with that line in order to keep standing. If you stay too rigid, you will fall.” “I was in Zimbabwe a few years ago and I saw some really drunk people dancing,” Tavares chuckles. “We were watching them, and they were always almost falling and then they would catch themselves. Just like those people dancing, I also want to dance with that kind of freedom and balance.”

Tavares’ sweet voice and gentle arrangements communicate this meaning even if you cannot understand all of the lyrics. Her voice has a healing power which comes from someone who has struggled with her place in the world and then accepted herself fully. This is the voice of a woman whose parents left her. In the ever so Cape Verdean search for a better life, her father left for America; her mother moved south. Tavares was raised by an older Portuguese woman.
Through music she sought out her family and cultural roots, along with the help of veteran African musicians in Lisbon and back in Cape Verde where she travels every year. (Source World Connection)

Film: Otham Karim's 'För kärleken' starring Danny Glover (Sweden)

Photo: Director Othman Karim and actors Peter Gardiner and Tuva Novotny
Othman Karim is the director of the Swedish film 'För kärleken' ('Dear Alice'). The film was released in 2010 and received a lot of attention in Scandinavia because Karim casted Danny Glover in the film. Glover plays a newly arrived immigrant from Gambia.

För kärleken (Dear Alice) centers on four people whose fates intertwine on one day when the decisions they make will have life-shattering results.

Othman Karim (born 19 March 1968) is a Swedish film director, documentary producer, television presenter and photographer.



Karim came to Sweden from Uganda in 1975 when his family fled Idi Amin's reign. He has studied at Brooks Institute of Photography, followed by employment with Steven Spielberg's production company Amblin Entertainment.

Plot: Very different lives, becomes interweaved during what seems like an ordinary day. Franzis Namazi (Danny Glover) is a newly arrived immigrant from Gambia to Sweden.

He is about to give up on his little store selling African art. Karin Carlsson-Said (Tuva Novotny) is a lawyer who is about to enter a new important step in her career as a lawyer.

Her husband Moses (Peter Gardiner) must send money to his hospitalized father in Uganda, but there are problems with the transaction and has issues with keeping up his work as a Social Worker.

Bosse (Ulf Brunnberg) is the TV star who finds out he has been fired off his own show and finds his young wife with another man, Håkan (Stefan Sauk) is a charming celebrity with an alcohol problem and now once again needs help from his lawyer Karin Carlsson-Said.

English interview with Othman Karim here

Summer School - Black Europe: Exploring Dimensions of Citizenship, Race and Ethnic Relations. June 12th-30th 2011, Amsterdam

The National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy (NiNsee) and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam are pleased to announce the fourth annual Summer School on Black Europe entitled:

Black Europe: Exploring Dimensions of Citizenship, Race and Ethnic Relations. June 12th-30th 2011, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

The Summer School on Black Europe emerged out of dialogue and concern of various scholars working in the field of race and ethnic relations in Europe. The program is now in its fourth year and is currently located at the National Institute for the study of Dutch slavery and its legacy (NiNsee).

Course Description
This course will examine the multiple constructions of the term Black Europe and the social, economic and political implications within. Students will be able to earn 3 US (6 ECTS) credits for their participation. The content and the description of the summer school are listed below. If you are interested in hearing more about the course, please send a request for additional information via email to a.abdou@ninsee.nl

Or visit the website, http://www.ninsee.nl/Summerschool-1

This course is a collaboration between the National Institute for the Study of Dutch Slavery and its Legacy (NiNsee) and the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Please feel free to share this information.
Kind Regards, Amy Abdou

Program
A multitude of discourses have emerged relative to the internationalism of Blacks worldwide and particularly in the Americas, but the prominence and impact of the Black presence in Europe has not been adequately explored. This course will examine the multiple constructions of the term Black Europe and the social, economic and political implications within. We will address the dimensions of race and ethnic relations that are unique to Europe; examining the ways in which conceptions of the “other” are institutionalized and reproduced; the rise of xenophobia in various EU countries; the legal definitions and discourse surrounding the conceptualized “other”; and the ways in which each country has dealt with issues of race and national identity.

In the first week, we begin with a historical overview of social and civil conflict in Europe; starting with slavery, colonization, colonial and postcolonial migrations, social movements and struggles. We trace the chain of events following social and civil conflicts in Europe and the rise of legislative and intellectual discourse regarding non-white migration. We also shed light on the historical, cultural and intellectual contributions of Black Europeans.

In the second week, we explore the concept of race and the impact of racism in Europe. We discuss the ways in which race intersects with gender, class, age and ethnicity. Within this discussion, the notion of blackness is examined and analyzed; as a social construction employed by natives to indicate (non) belonging; as an official categorization; as a Diaspora living within Europe; and as a contestation of the dominant (white) paradigm. We will look at issues concerning European identity, national identity and self identity and explore the generational shifts within.

In the third week, we will look specifically at three case studies, the Netherlands, France and England; comparing the history of regulation and management of race and ethnic relations and the discourse surrounding the concept of Blackness and self-identification in these lands. We will also look at the effects of globalization, as well as new migrations from Eastern Europe and the broadening of the EU.

The Summer School will conclude with a two- day symposium entitled, Trajectories of Emancipation (June 29th and 30th). This year’s theme is Religion and Slavery. Keynote speakers include:
Sir Hilary Beckles, Pro-Vice Chancellor and Principal, Cave Hill Campus,
The University of the West Indies
Dr. Lewis Gordon, Director, Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought
Reverend Rose Hudson-Wilkins, Speaker’s Chaplain, House Of Commons

The symposium will be followed by the National Commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the Netherlands on July 1st. NiNsee will plan a full day of events to commemorate this historic event.

Confirmed Instructors for 2011

■ Dr. Philomena Essed, Antioch University
■ Dr. David Theo Goldberg, University of California Humanities Research Institute
■ Dr. Ramon Grosfoguel, University of California, Berkeley
■ Dr. Dienke Hondius, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
■ Dr. Trica Danielle Keaton, Vanderbilt University
■ Dr. Kwame Nimako, Universiteit van Amsterdam
■ Dr. Stephen Small, University of California, Berkeley
■ Dr. Thomas Spijkerboer, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

The Summer School on Black Europe is open to advanced undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate students. Preference will be given to students based on the following criteria:
■ Undergraduate and graduate students with a background in the fields of sociology, anthropology, political science, cultural studies, economics and/or the humanities;
■ Post-graduate students who have begun a research project in the field;
■ Professionals with an MA Degree and who are working or want to work in a field related to the topic of the Summer School.

Students are accepted on the basis of i) their previous qualifications, ii) the level of knowledge of English, and iii) an essay on their motivation. The Admissions Committee will take account of coherence, feasibility or relevance of the student’s career objectives and proposed program of study, as well as excellence in prior academic accomplishment, especially in coursework and experience related to the Summer School on Black Europe.

Tuition

The regular tuition for this course is €1350. Tuition includes the opening reception, lunches on all class days, weekly get-togethers with faculty, a course reader, a public transportation pass, and travel costs and entrance to museums and exhibitions during excursions (excluding the optional excursion to Paris).

The tuition for students who wish to receive course credit is € 1500. These costs include VAT which is refundable to students living outside the Netherlands. Students may reserve accommodation through the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam for a cost of approximately € 500 per month.

Application Deadline
April 1, 2011

Video: Marsha Ambrosius releases solo album 'Late Nights & Early Mornings'

UK singer Marsha Ambrosius released her J Records solo debut album Late Nights & Early Mornings.

Already proven as a talented, sought after songwriter and revered platinum-selling artist, Marsha Ambrosius is meeting the next challenge in her already impressive musical career by reinventing herself as a solo artist with her J Records debut disc Late Nights & Early Mornings .

Late Nights & Early Mornings is destined to be a classic, as Marsha offers a candid glimpse of her life and perspectives as a woman.



Inspired by musical icons like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Prince, she concedes there is an overall male influence in her songwriting, such as the assertive sentiments heard on hits like “Say Yes.” She explains, “My pen and my point of view has a certain aggression to it because I’ve listened to a lot of male influenced music, which I think makes me one of the most outspoken writers out here.

Sometimes as a woman you don’t wanna say what’s on your mind for fear of being judged. But why wouldn’t I say it like that if that’s how I felt?” Musical peers recruited to contribute to the project include Alicia Keys, a reunion with Dre and Vidal (producers of “Say Yes”), Just Blaze and Focus.

While her success in the industry is already solidified, Marsha knows it’s never easy to win over fans as a solo artist. Fortunately, she says, “It’s like being thrown in the deep end. ‘Okay I have to swim? Oh well.’ I’ve taken that attitude and it’s carried me forward.” (Source J records)

Late Nights & Early Mornings track listing:

1. Anticipation (Intro)
2. With You
3. Late Nights & Early Mornings
4. Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player)
5. Far Away
6. Lose Myself
7. Your Hands
8. I Want You To Stay
9. Sour Times
10. Tears
11. Chasing Clouds
12. The Break Up Song

Also see the very good feature story 'From Grind To Glory' about Marcha Ambrosius at Soul Culture

Book: Precious - A black woman's story about white foster care, identity and survival (UK)

"As a young child I hated being black and I honestly felt that all black people, especially me, were naturally ugly," said Precious Williams, the British author of the book Precious in an interview with Belinda Otas.

Williams's book is a true story about childhood, abandonment, identity, relationships, family, life’s obstacles and survival

As a toddler, the British-born daughter of a Nigerian princess Precious Anita Williams, was advertised in Nursery World in 1971: “Private foster parents required for a three-month-old baby.”

These ‘temporary’ fostering arrangements were apparently common in the 1970s as well as the unregulated care of African children which followed.

Precious or Anita (Neety) - her childhood name - was placed with a 57 year-old white woman ‘Nanny’, who had a penchant for fostering black children after reading Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, as a child. Read full story at www.thenewblackmagazine.com

Some snapshots of the interview with Belinda Otas

Precious Williams: "My definition of beauty as a child, growing up in a white town was that to be beautiful you had to look as white as possible. I honestly didn’t feel it was possible for a black person to be physically attractive unless they had white blood. That was the prevailing attitude.

When I spent time with my Nigerian family I’d notice they’d tell me how pretty I was but instead of making me feel good, it made me feel humiliated. I was convinced they were taking the p*ss.

The negative attitude I absorbed regarding black women and beauty didn’t only come from white people though. My Nigerian relatives would confuse the hell out of me by praising my relatively “fair” skin and at the same time lamenting my “tough” hair.

......

As a young child I hated being black and I honestly felt that all black people, especially me, were naturally ugly.

In feeling this way I was reflecting the prevalent attitudes around me that time. My memoir ends with me as a young woman, entering Oxford University in the early 1990s.

By that point I no longer hated my physical appearance. My shift in attitude about my looks had a lot to do with what was happening in pop culture at that time.

I was still living in a predominately white environment but black women had suddenly, to an extent, stopped being ‘invisible’. Naomi Campbell had arrived on the fashion scene. Hip-hop was capturing mainstream attention. Janet Jackson was one of the nation’s hottest pin-ups." Read the interview at Belinda Otas

Read more at www.preciouswilliams.com
and at her blog at http://preciousthebook.blogspot.com

New Skool Rules - International Hip Hop and R&B Conference, April 1-3 in Rotterdam

New Skool Rules, the biggest International Hip Hop and R&B Conference returns in 2011 from April 1st till April 3rd in Rotterdam (Holland)

The international urban music industry will yet again be making major breakthroughs in 2011.

The global scene will yet again be represented on April 1st through 3rd, and once more make way for music professionals seeking to “network and exchange” in an absolutely unique setting and format.

The first edition of the New Skool Rules conference in 2009 had proven to be the ultimate international breeding ground for music professionals around the globe, reaching over 900 delegates from over 20 countries. Major as well as underground and indie contributors to the “urban” scene were represented, with delegates from; Def Jam, Universal, BET, VIBE, MTV (USA), Konvikt, Interscope, AllHipHop.com, WEA, Sony ATV, EMI Publishing, Warner Music and Talpa Music Publishing present.

The 2009 event had proven to be a networking haven for established and upcoming professionals in the music industry where new business relationships were founded, talents scouted, and knowledge exchanged."The New Skool Rules Conference was an eye-opening experience to say the least. It was a true revelation to witness so many different cultures congregate under the Hip-Hop banner, all sharing experience and information." Chuck Creekmur (USA) – AllHipHop.com

The conference will provide a platform for industry professionals to get a taste of international talents, network and exchange knowledge with other giants in the industry as well as with upcoming and established artists. In 2009 for example, upcoming artists, producers, bookers and managers we’re able to network and collaborate live with international artists such as Bishop Lamont, Fredro Starr (Onyx), LMFAO, Rock City and Verse, among others.

Nothing less can be expected for the 2011 edition as the New Skool Rules 2011 experience will start to make its mark in 2010 already, with various international collaborations and competitions scheduled. In 2011 the programme will feature over 30showcases, 12 master classes, 12 workshops, 12 panels, 3 after-parties, speed-date
sessions and much more.

For more information/ticket purchase, visit www.newskoolrules.com

Szjerdene - Jazzy vocals from London

The UK singer Szjerdene released her first unofficial single of 2011, "Think It Through". The song is a cover of the instrumental "Folk Song For Cello" by Savath y Savalas and is cowritten by Mar.

Think it Through
Szjerdene

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On her website she writes. "Szjerdene may be young – but, in her own words, she is a product of the past. The songwriter and musical all-rounder has forsaken the oft-rodden road of modern, commercial R&B, in favour of honing her love of the old school jazz sound, putting her own twist on the genre.

Szjerdene draws inspiration from some of the great – Etta James, Sarah Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix and Marvin Gaye, to name but a few – and is currently working on her EP, entitled ‘Patchwork’, which promises to be a soulful, bluesy fusion of sounds both old and new."

Also check out the remix of Dorsh at http://dorshmusic.com

Should Black people travel to Russia?

Should people of color or black people go to Russia? The question was originally published as a blog post on the website Moscowthroughbrowneyes of a graduate student living in Moscow in 2009.

Because there is 'yes' and a 'no' answer I will post them both. And because Russia is a 'special' destination for black (and Asian) people I will also add a few links.

Should you go?

The challenges of biracial children in Russia

For biracial or mixed race children in Russia growing up can be a challenge. It often means being singled out at school, discriminated against and sometimes even being attacked by Neo Nazi skinheads.

But the Afro-Russian organisation for mixed race children 'Metis' supports the children and learns them to love themselves for what they are and shows them that they are not alone. And not without reason.

Video: Portrait Of Handworth riot in 1985 - Pogus Caesar (UK)

Black History UK: In 1985 racial tension and community discontentment escalated into the historical Handsworth riots that rocked Birmingham between 9th - 11th September 1985.

Birmingham film maker and photographer Pogus Caesar knows Handsworth well. He found himself in the centre of the 1985 riots and spent two days capturing a series of startling images. Caesar kept them hidden for 20 years. Why? And how does he see Handsworth now?.

The stark black and white photographs featured in the film provide a rare, valuable and historical record of the raw emotion, heartbreak and violence that unfolded during those dark and fateful days in September 1985.

See more information at BBC's Community features

Thank you Sabine for the information.

Black people in Russia - Yelena Khanga

You can't write about black people in Russia without mentioning Yelena Khanga.

Yelena Khanga is one of Russia’s best-known black citizens. The popular host of a top-rated 1990s chat show about sex – “Pro Eto,” (About That), became one of the few black faces regularly seen on Russian television. Read her story at www.rferl.org

She also wrote the book 'Soul to Soul: Story of a Black Russian American Family, 1869-1992'.

Yelena Khanga is also the daughter of Lily Golden, the prominent social activist who passed away last year (2010).

In an interview with a Moscow State University journalism student, Yelena Khanga talks about Barack Obama and journalism. Read the (translatable) Russian video transcript at Russia.ru.

In a Russian talk show Yelena Khanga gives interview about life and career.




See also, 'Red Africa, Exploring the legacy of international socialist relations with Africa in art, film, architecture and music', The Calvert Journal, special report.

Website of Yelena Khanga (Russian:Елена Ханга) at www.yelenakhanga.ru