We are at the point again in Africa -post colonialism- where Africa/Africans seem to be charging forward in a new era of the wind of change that will once again re-brand Africa/Africans not only to the world at large but also amongst Africans. I am a big fan of Franca Sozzani in her bold genuine steps to really be a trailblazer in the publication/fashion world to right international wrongs and to showcase beauty on a global scale, while encouraging and challenging us all to do the same.  I was elated to see Franca in my homeland of Ghana letting the world know that our designers can and are competing on a global scale and I was even more ecstatic to hear that Vogue Italia will be a media sponsor for the upcoming Ghana Fashion and Design Week. This is the sort of Pan-African inclusiveness that has been part of the African story and agenda since independence ; yet seems lost amongst many global Africans.

“It’s not often we build a web article and find the need to tag it with the keywords ‘Ban Ki-moon’ and ‘fashion’. Not that the UN secretary general isn’t stylish enough for us, but on this occasion L’Uomo Vogue has decided to give him the cover slot of their May issue in honour of an entire edition dedicated to ‘rebranding Africa’. Let them explain: “Africa is a land with a myriad of resources and unexpected opportunities; above all it is a young continent with a huge desire for self-affirmation and for men and women to be guaranteed the same measure of dignity. It is a ‘continent in progress’, a land in constant evolution, with an ongoing commitment to offering its people better living conditions,” the editorial team at the Italian men’s branch of Vogue explain in a press release. It continues: “Africa needs to recreate an image for itself that moves away from the picture of war and famine habitually presented to us by the media. And indeed there is a positive side to the continent, one where there are textile companies, oil deposits and modern cities rising up in countries we are as yet unfamiliar with; huge steps forward have been taken in the field of education, which have led to the building of primary schools, high schools and universities.” Who better, goes their thinking, to illustrate a celebration of Africa than Ban Ki-moon, who is interviewed by the magazine’s editor, Franca Sozanni, about the continent’s sustainable growth (the woman on the right is singer Lira, the picture is the other image being floated by L’Uomo Vogue to explemplify what else you can find between its covers)...That they have opted not to put an African person on the cover seems odd. But the image of a man (a very important man, at that) behind a desk, in a suit, the world sitting behind his shoulders, is clearly there to convey a certain seriousness. It will be interesting to see how such an exercise as ‘rebranding Africa’ plays out on the pages of L’Uomo Vogue.” READ MORE

“Africa is in the news — but not just for the sad and familiar reasons of conflict and suffering. The continent is entering the fashion arena, with the quality of its handwork, artistic creativity and its potential for economic growth bringing Africa literally in vogue. The key word for an overall résumé of changes in attitude and perception is “rebranding.” Ms. Sozzani did an “all black” issue for women’s Vogue in 2008, and she has subsequently promoted multiculture with a focus on black creativity and beauty on the magazine’s Web site, Vogue.it . Ms. Sozzani’s personal commitment helps to dispel any idea that rebranding Africa via fashion is a gimmick or that it might sit uncomfortably beside the deep-set issues of poverty, disease and gender. The editor has been appointed a Goodwill Ambassador for Fashion4Development — a global campaign that uses fashion-based initiatives to support the United Nations’ wider issues in helping Africa…” READ MORE

“L’Uomo Vogue‘s Rebranding Africa issue is an idea whose time has come,” Fashionista contributor and founder of Africa Style Daily Zandile Blay said. “From fashion to film to politics, the continent is in the midst of a total makeover so Franca Sozzani and L’Uomo Vogue are right to document it. But Blay says that coverage on Africa’s “makeover”–like the kind we’ll see L’Uomo Vogue‘s May issue–is too few and far between. “As an American editor I find it disappointing that only European publications are delving so deeply into the topic,” she said. “Where are the US publications in this global conversation?” Read More

While I believe in the notion of Re-branding Africa and understand that L’Uomo Vogue’s All Africa May/June issue is part of a UN initiative in assistance to help to re-brand Africa to the international community by truly living up to the idea of “free trade” -which more often than not leaves Africa/Africans at a loss with little dividends to show in freedom or trade; I would have preferred to ban Ki-moon from the cover -LOL!  In all seriousness, I would have preferred Ban Ki-moon to be replaced with some of the floating images inside of the special issue of Africans like the AC Milan players and South African singer Lira -who are truly the ones re-branding Africa globally. In all fairness the international world has not enhanced Africa/Africans as much as Africa/Africans have enhanced the world. Ban Ki- moon on the cover is not exactly the type of image of re-branding Africa that many of us Africans like myself have in mind as a re-branded post independence continent.

The wind of change that brought about a plethora of post-colonial independent African nations did not have to seek permission from the international world nor the UN to re-brand itself as free independent post-colonial nations with their own unique and personal African identity that was once heralded the world over with great leaders like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Thomas Sankara, Jomo Kenyatta, Sekou Toure, Patrice Lumumba and so many other men and women past and present. We have in the past and continue til today to invite international assistance in our growth, but not in a growth of image that indirectly or overtly implies that Africa/Africans have to be more like the Western world to compete globally and to re-brand its image. The last November 2008 cover of L’Uomo Vogue’s first All Africa issue also made this same mistake by putting Forrest Whitaker on the cover with features of Quincy Jones, John Legend, Matt Damon,  Michelle Obama and others “all expressing their affection for and their personal connection to Africa“.  While this November 2008 issue according to Robin Givhan was to “focus on people, projects and ideas. She did not want to make an aesthetic statement about Africa. So she didn’t fill the magazine with images of Western models in overpriced vaguely ethnic frocks. And unlike a recent issue of India’s Vogue magazine, which sparked outrage among activists and humanitarians, this one won’t show peasants posing with $5,000 handbags. ”Fashion is not only about clothes,” Sozzani says. She broadens it so that it speaks to the vague and all-encompassing notion of identity..” Read More

Unfortunately one of Africa’s biggest problems is this vague all-encompassing notion of identity that usually never takes into account that Africa is a vast continent made up of a plethora of countries with their very own African identities. More often than not we live on the cusp of the two extremes where African faces are shown to represent Africa’s poverty and most things wrong with Africa, while Western faces are shown to represent the growth,progress and what is good about Africa. If it is about African growth, progress, charitable organizations and true free trade of emerging market business-there are Africans on and off the continent who can and should be representative of that firstly to Africans and secondly to the international world. We can speak for ourselves and have our own African images representing ourselves because we have been the ones generation after generation on the frontline of re-branding Africa and showcasing our African identity to the world.

“L’Uomo Vogue‘s May issue delves into a topic rarely explored by fashion magazines: World politics. In fact, the whole issue is dedicated to the “rebranding of Africa”, and features the unlikely cover star of 67-year-old Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the UN….Africa does not need charity,” cover star Ki-moon says. “Africa needs investment and partnership. Joining forces with civil society and private sector, including non-traditional players, like the fashion industry, has become indispensable. Sustainable development is my top priority” Read More

I, in full disclosure must inform that I have yet to receive my copy of this issue to delve deeper into the content beyond the cover; However as much as I congratulate Franca Sozzani on the bold step with the May/June second All Africa issue of L’Uomo Vogue -I still feel we have a long way to go in the international community along with our own African communities world wide in understanding that just as the re-branding issue of once emerging markets like China in its undeniable global growth and appeal at its heights during Kofi Annan’s term as UN Secretary General would have never had Kofi Annan on the cover to represent re-branding of China – Africans like myself would have also preferred to see the image of our own on the cover as our continental representation. The images of a continent/nations says a lot to and about its future!

In my own efforts in representing fashion, beauty and other companies trying to enter the African market, I have found enough difficulty in convincing clients that their westernized blonde and blue eyed/closer to White than Black ideal of beauty in their advertising and marketing strategies can not and should not be translated as representative of entering the African market without any African faces along side of it.  I also have found that there  is still so much miseducation and misconception that Africa can somehow be generalized like China or America, but the worst part of my experience has been in seeing that Africa generally presents itself continentally as a power struggle constantly hindering a lot of growth brought on by our own selves and our lack of being able to do anything on our own without aid and assistance from others because instead of building the right structures and finding African solutions to African problems, we rather spend more time fighting amongst ourselves in a power struggle to be top boss in doing things at our own time and setting self serving timelines in progress, while usually granting multinationals and the international community full and free access to be at the forefront and the face of our leadership and progress because as the saying goes “Everyone wants to be a chief, But nobody wants to be an Indian“?  Generation after generation we seem to be complicit in consuming and outputting the same ol’ same ol’ as we watch our dreams deferred. Africa/Africans need to collectively change our attitudes as Dr. Nkrumah said, in order to stop being complicit in hindering our own growth! We as Africans need to be more diligent and pro-active in setting the example and course for the future of our continent and in making sure the images representing our nations and continent are reflective of our independence stance in Forward Ever, Backward Never!

“In the future as the world of Africa & the West mate more & more into the totality of world culture, the creative strength of the African personality, which is evident in tribal sculpture, will contribute far more profoundly to human fulfillment than can yet be imagined” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah- 1966

“I am not African because I was born in Africa, but because Africa was born in me….I made it quite clear that from now on – today – we must change our attitudes, our minds, we must realise that from now on, we are no more a colonial but a free and independent people. But also, as I pointed out, that also entails hard work. That new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs. We are going to demonstrate to the world, to the other nations, that we are prepared to lay our own foundation. Our own African identity…We have won the battle and we again re-dedicate ourselves. Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa….We face neither East Nor West, We Face Forward” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

“Made In Africa”

[INTRO VOICE 1]
Scholars and scientists now conceive that Africa is the first place of mankind
Africans were the first builders of civilization
They discovered mathematics, invented writing, developed sciences
Engineering, medicine, religion, fine arts, and built the Great Pyramids
An architectural achievement which still baffles modern scientists’

[INTRO VOICE 2]
The 225th Emperor [echo] direct descent from Solomon and The Queen of Sheba [echo]
He is the “King of Kings, The Lion of Judah [echo]”
The name Haile Selassie I means “Power of the Trinity”

[Verse 1: Stephen Marley]
Educate yourselves, of Africa
To liberate yourself, Africa
Keep your heads up high
No more will we cry
Eeeeyh

Our history that they stole, Africa
Is written in our souls, Africa
Oldest nation on this earth
Know just what you worth
Well well

Ships that sail to distant places
Robbed us of our rising worlds
History says that you’ve betrayed us
Talking of the Gods you serve
Hear the rambling in the sky
Tears that our fore fathers cry
And today we’re still in chains
Take the shackle from our minds
You’re the corner stone
The king upon the throne

How beautiful are thou, Africa
Our nation have to bow, Africa
Don’t you fall from grace
You’re that secret place
Aye! Aye-ah-aye!

[Verse 2: Wale]
Power to the people, Motherland representa
I’m on trial with the man she my co-defendant
And I demand her attention, can you focus women?
I’m getting closer to the sky errytime I hit it
Haile Selassie I, “Power of the Trinity”
Soul made in naija, my voice made in Italy
White mans world that I’m livin’ in, some say
But it was Africa the continent we all came from
Can’t nothing come between me and you
So before I have seeds gotta understand my roots
Gotta understand the truth. We is all king’s ’round here
Lifes not all fair, work till we fall dead
Paul goin’ hard ’till I urn like a Pall-Bearer
Although my body’s in the U.S my heart’s there
I can never be ashamed of her, I got my features and my name from her
Mama Africa

[Verse 3: Stephen Marley]
The richest place on earth
Know just what your worth

[HARMONIZING WITH MUSIC]
Talking about the God you serve
[HARMONIZING WITH MUSIC]

Keep your heads up high
No more will we cry

They infiltrate our homes, Africa
They claim it as their own, Africa
Now we must stand tall
To break down all these wall-alls
Well well

Our children must be taught, of Africa
The science and the art, Africa
Nah Nah Nah Nah Nah Nahhh!

Educate yourself, Africa
To liberate yourselves, Africa
Keep your heads up high
No more will we cry

Beautiful are thou, Africa
A legend have to bow, Africa
Oh Oh!

Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)
Made in Africa, We share Africa (We share Africa)

In honor of Ghana’s 55th year of Independence and women’s history month we honor and celebrate the daughters of Yaa Asentwaa- the image makers and global African powerhouses representing the future of the Black Star Nation of Ghana thru their powerfully creative endeavorers. March 6, 1967 Ghana was declared an independent African nation with the first globally recognized Black president who forever changed the global lexicon on what “Black Star Power” and “African Personality” was, is and will be.  Before Dr. Kwame Nkrumah stood at Black Star Square AKA Independence Square – there was Yaa Asantewaa who would forever epitomize why we call the continent with the most natural resources Mama Africa. Yaa Asantewaa showed why many African nations  are built on matriarchy and how the power of the women from village to city has always been there and will forever be there for the birth, nurturing , growth and progression of its future.  America may have Rosie the Riveter as their icon of unstoppable women who refuse to sit back  and be denied or have their freedom be deferred to their men to do right by them in a time of war; the women who gleefully say to their men anything you can do I can do better; however Rosie ain’t got nothing on Yaa.  Women of global Africa and in particular the women of the the Black Star Nation of Ghana will forever have the legacy and battle cry of Yaa Asantewaa empowering them in their sense of spirit and responsibility to building the future of Ghana as they consume & embody these words.

“Now I see that some of you fear to go forward to fight for our king. If it [was] in the brave days of Osei Tutu, Okomfo Anokje, and Opoku Ware, chiefs would not sit down to see their king to be taken away without firing a shot. No European could have dared speak to chiefs of Asante in the way the governor spoke to you this morning. Is it true that the bravery of Asante is no more? I cannot believe it. It cannot be! I must say this: if you, the men of Asante, will not go forward, then we will. We, the women, will. I shall call upon my fellow women. We will fight! We will fight till the last of us falls in the battlefields.” Yaa Asantewaa-Queen King Of Kings…

Today we have great young women of global Africa continuing to build on this legacy, while remembering that Dr. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah said “Our independence is meaningless unless it is linked up with the total liberation of Africa.”

Get to know some of the many women who I call  ”Daughters of Yaa Asantewaa” hailing from the Black Star Nation…The work of Independence Continues……

Politics & Governance

By now most know that Samia Nkrumah has become one of Africa’s new darlings for the future of women in politics. With the polarizing Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, the former first lady & founder of the 31st December Women’s Movement out of the running for the 2012 Ghana elections, many have their eyes on Samia Nkrumah to possibly be the first woman elected to Ghana’s presidency, following in the footsteps of her father & Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf & other women presidents around the world in also solidifying her place in the world record books as 1st. With the rise of Samia Nkrumah being elected as MP (member of parliament ) in her father’s hometown & then being named the chairperson for the CPP ( her father’s party ) along with the subsequent departure of Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, who was the CPP’s 2008 presidential candidate as well as the foreseen flag-bearer for 2012, there is now an opening for Samia Nkrumah to surge forward toward her presidential dreams & to follow in her father’s footsteps….READ MORE HERE

By now most people have become familiar with the ICC (International Criminal Court ) in its bias to bring only African heads of states and criminals to justice as representative of the criminality of governance in the world. While the ICC maybe criticized particularly amongst Africans for its apparent bias, today I celebrate one of our own Daughters of Yaa Asantewaa showing that in order to have a say at the table of power , one must first have a seat at the table. Get to Know Judge Akua Kuenyehia….

“Akua Kuenyehia’s office, on the top floor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, is filled with Africa. There are maps of the continent, African art on the walls and a shelf of beautiful African carvings…Judge Kuenyehia, one of three female African judges at the ICC, is first vice-president of the court. And because all the cases currently at the ICC are African, the Ghanaian judge feels that her knowledge of her home continent serves her well…For example, she and her colleagues had to approve the forms that victims of war crimes fill in if they want to take advantage of the court’s unprecedented move to allow them to have a greater involvement in proceedings….”When people run away from conflict they often take nothing with them, so we cannot ask them to produce passports, email addresses or paperwork,” explained Judge Kuenyehia…As well as being first vice president, Judge Kuenyehia is also one of the judges in the pre-trial division, which deals with preliminary issues, including admissibility of cases and the confirmation of charges against an accused. This means she assesses all the evidence that Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo brings against a war crimes suspect, and decides with the other pre-trial judges whether a case should come to trial…A former lecturer in criminal law, gender law and international human rights law at the University of Ghana, Judge Kuenyehia has co-authored several books and influential papers on how law is interpreted and implemented throughout her continent. She told IWPR she has spent many hours arguing over cases with her husband, who is still a practising lawyer in Ghana…She has sought to encourage African women to gain a better understanding of the law, setting up networks of female professionals who go out into communities to promote awareness of legal rights and issues…She represented Ghana on the United Nations’ Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, CEDAW, committee in 2003 and worked hard to contribute to its reputation and influence….READ MORE

Filmmakers

Filmmaking has grasped young Ghanaian women like wildfire in excellence amongst this new generation. There are a plethora of Ghanaian women filmmakers that are making their mark on the global film industry, while being in the forefront of building the African and in particular Ghanaian film industry, so many that I just can’t name them all, but be prepared to know their names because the takeover is coming to a theater/TV screen near you. We can not celebrate the future until we celebrate the past and in filmmaking there is no other woman representative of the Black Star Nation better than Auntie Efua AKA Efua Theodora Sutherland, whose own legacy continues through her charitable organization  Mmofra Foundation- where children and culture connect.

Efua Theodora Sutherland (1924-1996) renowned playwright from Ghana, affectionately called Auntie Efua, entered in the annals of African cinema history in 1967, in association with the production of Araba: The Village Story. The film was produced for the U.S. television network ABC to document the successful Atwia Experimental Community Theatre Project. The initiative is recognized worldwide as a pioneering model for the now popular Theatre for Development. She is well known and admired as dramatist and writer, continuing in her chosen field of drama having never produced another film. Her role as foremother in African cinema, documenting African culture and experiences, is indicative of the practices of many African women. Some women have entered filmmaking as a primary career, while others have used the moving image as a medium of expression in their work. And thus, Efua Sutherland was a devoted and passionate cultural producer whose vision and influence continue to reach far and wide. At the funeral of “Auntie Efua”, Kofi Anyidoho reflected on her life in this way:

“Dr. Efua Theodora Sutherland. ‘Auntie Efua’ is best known for her pioneering work as a cultural visionary and activist, her impact on society at once comprehensive and enduring. Teacher, research scholar, poet, dramatist, and social worker, she devoted her life to the building of models of excellence in culture and education, and to the training of young people who would carry her vision into the far future…” It was also in the final phase of her work that she gave to Ghana and the African world probably her grandest artistic vision for uplifting and reuniting African peoples through the arts—an original proposal for the Pan African Historical Theatre Festival, the Panafest Movement. This final gift underscores the significance she attached to connections between Africa and the Diaspora. She played a very critical role in the establishment of the W.E.B. DuBois Memorial Centre for Pan African Culture. She belonged to an extensive global network of friends, many of them eminent creative minds….READ MORE

HERE…NOW… THE FUTURE ……

Amma Asante (born 1969) is a British Ghanaian writer/director/producer who has recently garnered the coveted big budget film project that many filmmakers dream of.  Amma’s first feature film A Way of Life was partly written to honor the Welsh identity of her niece and nephew. It won her a BAFTA (British Academy Film Award) for special achievement by a writer/director in a debut film. According to Amma “I found myself wanting to challenge the stereotypes, and show that people who seem different can be incredibly similar. I wanted to find the humanity that links us all, really. That’s what a good film is all about….” Amma’s second feature film of her career will be “Belle“ based on a true story of Dido Belle ( a mixed raced woman raised as an aristocrat in 18th-century England) projected at a budget of  over 10 million dollars.  Amma Asante is showing herself as a force to be reckoned with not only in the responsibility in educating the world on people like Dido Belle, but also being the manifestation of global filmmakers telling our global African stories all over the world.

“As a child, Asante attended the Barbara Speake stage school in Acton, London, where she trained as a student in dance and drama. She began her film and television career as a child actress, appearing as a regular in the British school drama Grange Hill. She fronted the “Just Say No” campaign of the 1980s and was one of nine Grange Hill children to take it to the Reagan White House. She went on to gain credits in other British television series including Desmond’s (Channel 4) and Birds Of A Feather (BBC1), and was a Children’s Channel presenter for a year. In her late teens, Asante left the world of acting behind and eventually made the move to screenwriting with a development deal from Chrysalis. Two series of the urban drama Brothers and Sisters followed, which Amma wrote and produced for her production company and BBC2. Asante’s 2004 feature film, A Way of Life, was her directorial debut. In November 2004 The London Film Festival awarded Asante the inaugural Alfred Dunhill UK Film Talent Award, created to recognise the achievements of a new or emerging British writer/director who has shown great skill and imagination in bringing originality and verve to film-making. February 2005 saw Amma collect the award for The Times Breakthrough Artist of the Year at The South Bank Show Awards and nominations for Best Newcomer at both the Evening Standard and London Film Critics Awards. At the BAFTA Film Awards in February 2005 Asante received the BAFTA Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a Writer/Director in a debut film…Read More

I recently got to know filmmaker Akosua Adoma Owusu and found out she was part of  the petite spifires of the Black Star nation much like myself. I was happy to be introduced to her by our ever growing daughters of Yaa Asantewaa sisterhood slowly and steadily erecting globally, after first being introduced to her work “Me Broni Ba” AKA My White Baby-the bane of our colonial lexicon of affection in mental slavery . Akosua tackles a deeply seeded root from Africa to the Diaspora that have told generation after generation of global Africans that somehow being compared to White or Whiteness equates to being beautifully right. Akosua was 1 of 23 filmmakers selected to receive a Creative Capital 2012 grant for her upcoming project Black Sunshine which tackles yet another deeply seeded subject that is often untouchable not only in conversation let alone on full theatrical blast for the world to get in on the conversation of Albinism and the African perspective. As our global creatives continue our legacy, I look forward to having more and more of our stories told in our own voices.

“Akosua Adoma  Owusu is an award-winning filmmaker and artist of Ghanaian descent. A protege of prolific filmmaker, Kevin Jerome Everson, she received her MFA in the Schools of Film & Video and Fine Art at the California Institute of the Arts, and her BA at the University of Virginia. Owusu`s short film “ME BRONI BA” (“My White Baby”) garnered critical acclaim with screenings at over 60 international film festivals including Rotterdam, London Film Festival, Visions du Reel, Silverdocs, and the Cannes Film Festival at Short Film Corner. It was ranked Top 10 in the October Issue of ArtForum Magazine in 2010 and earned several Best Documentary awards, including a Golden Gate Award nomination in New Visions at the 52nd San Francisco International Film Festival….Following the success of “ME BRONI BA,” Owusu`s next short work, “DREXCIYA”, was inspired by a myth of the Detroit-based techno band. It was praised at the 2011 Tarifa African Film Festival ‘for its radical nature’ and ‘poetic insight’ and went on to win Best Experimental Film at the Expresion en Corto Film Festival in Guanajuato, Mexico. Shortly after graduating from CalArts, she was the youngest of 42 black conceptual artists included in the group exhibition, 30 Seconds Off an Inch, at the famed Studio Museum in Harlem, where she also exhibited solo video projects. Her videos have shown at art venues including the Museum of Modern Art, Rencontres Internationales Paris/Berlin/Madrid, the National Gallery of Art, Transformer Gallery, BOZAR, LA Freewaves, Vox Populi, Spaces Gallery, and The Luggage Store Gallery. She was also a featured artist at the 56th Robert Flaherty Film Seminar and a Directing Talent at the Berlinale Talent Campus and the Durban Talent Campus in South Africa….Owusu`s professional experiences include Development and Production internships at Echo Lake Productions and HBO Films. For the latter, she received an Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences grant to provide post-production assistance on Chris Rock’s documentary Good Hair. She participated on the screening committee and jury of AFI Silverdocs and Festival Des Trois Continents. One of five recipients and the first Ghanaian to receive the award, Owusu will be funded by Focus Features` Africa First Program to direct a short film entitled “KWAKU ANANSE”, an adaptation of a traditional Ghanaian folktale mixed with live action and animation. She is currently developing her first feature, “BLACK SUNSHINE”, about a young albino girl. The film participated in the “Produire au Sud” workshop in 2010 and the Amiens Script and Screenplay Development Fund in 2011. The feature is an international co-production with Owusu’s company, Obibini Pictures, musician Salif Keita, his Salif Keita Foundation, and Arizona Films based in France…. READ MORE

California based Leila Djansi is a rising star amongst Ghanaian filmmakers. With her  often controversial love/ hate relationship with Ghanaian media, it seems Ghanaian audiences just can’t seem to get enough of how beautifully she captures their nation and tells their stories, while bringing an international audience to Ghanaian films by making great choices in casting and telling stories that are relatable to the world. Leila’s films continue to win awards in Ghana and abroad. Sinking Sands was no different winning 3 out of the 9 nominations and her newest release “Ties That Bind” seems to be accumulating the same praises of fine filmmaking starring great global African actors like Kimberly Elise, Ama K. Abebrese and Omotola Ekeinde.

You are among a growing number of African women who have studied filmmaking in the United States. You began your career in Ghana before traversing the Atlantic. What was your experience with cinema growing up in Ghana?

It wasn’t an elaborate experience really because not much was going on then. But, what was ongoing was fun. From where I am now it seems very amateurish but its how I got here. I learned the basics and got myself fortified for where I am now.

What are some of the differences and similarities in working in Ghana and the United States? Do you bring both an US aesthetic and Ghanaian perspective to your work?

Apart from the US working environment being more conducive, really not that much difference. I do try to bring both aesthetics to bear. If you are going to make an appealing film, you must make it within an acceptable standard.

Among your film credits are, I Sing of a Well, Sinking Sands and the soon to be released Ties That Bind. What have been some highlights during the production of the films? How have they been received?

Highlights, they were all fun to make. Tears and Laughter. Money and No money. I Sing of a Well was not well received. Ghana is a very tricky and delicate place. The people’s minds get conditioned and it takes time to add more to what they already know. So from the get with I Sing of a Well, we made mistakes. Casting, budgets and logistics wise, we made grave mistakes. But all that was a learning process which made Sinking Sands a success and more acceptable….READ MORE

Shirley Frimpong-Manso seems to be the go to writer/director/producer amongst established and up and coming Ghanaian actors who want quality work locally that sets the bar higher than your average Nollywood or Ghallywood films. Shirley seems to bring the challenege that many Ghanaian actors need in pulling out academy award nominated and winning roles for some of Ghana’s top actors like Lydia Forson and Jackie Appiah. She is one of the few women filmmakers from Ghana who is making great strides and gaining international recognition while being based solely in Ghana.
“Frimpong-Manso is a founder and CEO of the film, television, and advertising production company Sparrow Productions. Frimpong-Manso “seeks to raise the standard of film production in Ghana and Africa by telling progressive African stories as seen through the eyes of Africans.”She won ‘Best Director’ at the African Movie Academy Awards 2010…. Read More

Sam Kessie, a London born,Ghana raised & now Atlanta residing writer/director/producer/set designer and all around film creator, who has done it all from the bottom up into an award winning filmmaker taking on the daunting & epic task of telling the story of one of Africa’s sports heroes,Azumah Nelson AKA The Professor, can now add 2012 Ghana Music Awards nomination to her accolades for her beautifully crafted video  “No One Knows” by M3NSA featuring Asa. Sam has made it her goal to follow in the footsteps of great women of Ghana like Auntie Efua by also setting up her own charitable foundation The TKAFoundation or (Tomorrow’s Kaleidoscope of Artists) which raises funding in support of the arts along with teaching the freedom in filmmaking to Ghana’s disadvantaged youth.   ….Read More

FASHION

All you have to do is step off the plane at Kotoko airport to know that Ghana is where it’s at for fashion on the continent. I maybe biased but if you don’t believe me ask Franca Sozzani of Italian Vogue. It seems the world is delightfully enthralled with everything African these days and nowhere is the demand and elation of endless satiation more felt than what is being called the new renaissance of African fashion. For decades the grand dame of New York fashion week’s front rows, Zelda Kaplan had been wearing and telling everyone about her insatiable love and passion for African fashion, or as she tells it  ”Primitive Cultures”. This year in the most dramatic fashion forward of ways Zelda died sitting in her front row seat adorned in her beautiful primitive fashion without the show even stopping. Well Ms. Zelda,may the notion of “Africa as primitive culture” get laid to rest with you in fashion’s past because today’s African fashion innovators are far from primitive and have been steadily challenging the many preconceived and adopted notions about what African fashion is all about. There are countless male and female fashion designers doing the damn thing globally while raising the Black Star flag, but here a just a few of Yaa Asantewaa’s daughters of fashion that you should get to know.

Mimi Plange to me is the budding female version of Oswald Boateng, representing Ghana on a global high end level without utilizing the expected fabrications and stylings of what is traditionally seen as Ghanaian or African, yet making everyone proud from Ghana to the Diaspora in knowing that their brands represent the best in quality globally . Mimi is slowly and steadily becoming the new young talent that is the toast of the town amongst fashion elites like Andre Leon Talley, whom she counts as a mentor along with collaborating with the Sex and the City’s fashion god of sexy to die for footwear (until the red bottom takeover), Manolo Blahnik.

“With a mother who modeled for Ghanaian magazine Drum, Accra-born Mimi Plange has loved fashion from an early age, sketching under the guidance of an architect uncle. She learned the trade as a freelance contractor, first as a women’s designer at Rachel Roy. For her fall/winter collection under the label Boudoir d’Huitres, the designer presented 28 looks inspired by her homeland in a loft-like space with a sense of professionalism and a keen eye for editing…Her fourth collection shows just how adept she is at finessing her ideas into shapes geared to an upscale consumer who wants to dress in a variety of ways—she’s no Jane One-Note. She took the idea of African scarification to come up with the zigzag concepts on simple white sheaths, as well as for her cool biker trousers in luxe leather teamed up with a camel-hair T-shirt. She has a refined sense of fabric and mixes the rich copper tones of the African plains in wonderful little dry wool slip-like dinner dresses, some falling from jeweled halters, and others draped origami-style in bustiers that are flattering, not just a design conceit…READ MORE

Christie Brown is the go to designer at home in Ghana where she too brings Haute Couture to the home grown fashion in crowd by utilizing traditional fabrications with untraditional structuring of beautiful fashion creations. With a newly opened boutique in the hot shopping district of Osu,where foreign currency is king- Christie Brown will be sure to draw in her fair share of locals and visitors looking for top quality high fashion with dollars, pounds, euros and cedis to spare.

“Aisha Obuobi – creative director and founding partner of Christie Brown Ltd – began her love affair with fashion at an early age. Her grandmother, who the brand is named after, was a seamstress so she grew up watching Ms. Christie Brown, stooped over a sewing machine, creating beautiful clothes…like pieces of art – out of rich, vibrant materials. As a little girl, she reveled in playing with shreds of African print material and designed mini collections for her favourite dolls…Aisha started this label whilst in her final year at the University of Ghana, Legon, where she majored in Psychology and she is driven by the desire to create beautiful pieces that will enhance the natural beauty in Christie Brown’s clients. In 2009, Aisha won the highly coveted “Emerging Designer of the Year” award at the inaugural Arise Fashion Week, in South Africa. She was invited to sit on a panel at the African Economic Forum, which took place at Columbia University, New York, and Marie Claire (international) featured Aisha as one of twenty-one “Daring Women of 2010″, noting the “the energy, the courage, the creativity,” and “the drive” behind her work.…” Read More

As far as fashion journalism goes there is no other than Ghana’s own Zandile Blay. I first met Zandile during the time when she used to curate networking events for fashionistas while complaining about having to travel to London again for a lengthy period for work and study- poor thing-LOL! Those days have come and gone with stints at Paper Magazine and Huffington Post, but Zandile has continued to establish herself in the cutthroat world of global fashion journalists while still steadily letting the world know about all things beautiful that Africa has to offer thru her labor of love Africa Style Daily. Zandile while writing about the world of global fashion has also been the subject of many writers who also celebrate her “it girl” fashion sensibilities. Zandile recently penned a New York fashion week story letting Huffington Post readers know about the African fashion invasion that is slowly creeping up in the fashion world, ready for its close up!

“From the exuberant sexiness of HVS to the sumptuous elegance of David Tlale to the architectural austerity of Telfar, their labels show an African aesthetic that goes beyond ‘Tribal Prints.’ Yet, that we are even exposed to their aesthetic at all speaks of their greatest triumph: an ability to break into the West despite scarce resources, scant mentorship and few mainstream fashion contacts. In fact with the exception of Plange, who counts Duro Olowu and Andre Leon Talley as mentors, almost none of the designers above can boast of similar connections. In addition, they seem far from being on the radar of career-changing program’s like the CFDA Fund, Ecco Domani Fashion Fund or W Hotels’ recently launched Fashion Next…To solve this, these enterprising African designers are leveraging alternate methods like Twitter and Facebook to gain support and exposure…” READ MORE

Belinda Baidoo is a model, new mom and entrepreneur leading the way with others who are looking to change the face of Ghana’s fashion with upscale styled boutiques sprouting up along the busy international area of Osu in the capital city of Accra. As they say home is where the heart is and Belinda’s love for fashion is being developed at home in Ghana where she began her career as a model. Belinda opened the b2 models agency to give aspiring Ghanaian models the mentorship and opportunity  to blaze their own trails right along her own. Belinda first came on the scene after winning Top Model of Afrique in 1998 & then went on to sign with a Q model management , one of the top agencies in New York-known to many as the global fashion capital of the world. Belinda has been seen on billboards, advertisements in New York’s infamous Times Square along with international fashion magazine spreads and major Ad. Campaigns for international companies such as: Guinness, L’Oreal, Nike, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Lauren and Motorola. Belinda has also been featured in international publications such as Vogue, Essence and Cosmopolitan, just to name a few. Belinda thru her modeling agency  b2Models continues to mentor & develop Ghana’s international models of the future.

Cultural Curators

The great writing daughters of Yaa Asantewaa like Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond and Ayesha Harruna Attah are telling the beautiful stories of the Ghanaian experience in literary form with their books Powder Necklace and Harmattan Rain, while what I call cultural curators of our generation are utilizing multimedia platforms to continue the oral, written and visual history of our global African experience.  There are so many cultural curators amongst the daugthers of Yaa Asantewaa who are finally coming into their own and getting their just due proudly preserving the culture of Ghana/Africa while maintaining the balance of sharing the culture through a global creative lens.

I recently had the pleasure of finally meeting Nana Oforiatta-Ayim on her travel to New York to showcase her work as part of The New Museum’s Triennial entitled “The Ungovernables” – showing until April 22, 2012. Nana was first introduced to me by iconic living legend of photography, James Barnor because of our collective dedication to see the wonderful artistic cultural history of Ghana preserved and well showcased for generations to come. We are now on course to build our global Black Star Collective in honor of Yaa Asantewaa and Dr. Nkrumah by putting Africa first because we know that Africa was the beginning and is the future.

“Nana Oforiatta Ayim is a cultural historian, writer and filmmaker based in Accra and London. She is currently working on a research publication and exhibition for the EU/AU on cultural heritage and contemporary arts institutions in Africa with architect David Adjaye (2011, Bozar, Brussels) and a book on Ghanaian photographer James Barnor (2010, Trolley Books, London). Her writing has appeared in publications such as The National Geographic, The Statesman, The Dubliner and Time Out. She has lectured and presented her scholarship at Universities, including Cambridge, Kumasi, London and Oxford. She has curated exhibitions and events for institutions such as The British Council, The British Museum, The Liverpool Biennial, The Royal Festival Hall and The Victoria and Albert Museum. In her fiction and short films she deals with the themes of translation and the gaps within language. Her first fiction book ‘The Tightrope Walker’ will be published in May 2010. Her films have been nominated for awards at various festivals, such as The Milan African Film Festival, The RAI Ethnographic Film Festival and The Real Life Documentary Film Festival. They have also been shown at venues such as The Museum of African Diaspora and used in university curricula. She is a founding director of ANO, a non-profit organization dedicated to the interface of culture and development in Africa and its Diaspora. She has an MA in African Art History and is completing a PhD in African Languages and Cultures at the University of London...” [Credit:This is My Africa]

I was introduced to Yaba Blay’s documentary (1)ne Drop dealing with the never ending issue of identity politics and colorism amongst Blacks in America before I ever knew it was done by a Ghanaian, then I learned that this Ghanaian professor was young, in touch and will organize the daughters in a quick New York City minute if  and when ever she sees our young girls and boys being disrespected  and led astray by the likes of those in and outside of our community.  Yaba Blay and other non-Ghanaian daughters of Yaa Asantewaa created  ”We Are the 44% ” coalition to bring much needed awareness to violence against young Black and Latina girls.  Blay does not only act from the heart of a mother at these times but also from the power of the legacy of Yaa Asantewaa fully locked & loaded to defend and protect the culture.

“Yaba Amgborale Blay is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at Lafayette College where she also teaches courses in Women’s & Gender Studies. She received a BA in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Salisbury State University, an M.Ed. in Counseling Psychology from the University of New Orleans, an M.A. and Ph.D. in African American Studies and Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies from Temple University. Prior to her tenure at Lafayette College, she taught African American Studies at Temple University, African and African Diasporan Studies at Florida International University, and Africana Studies at Lehigh University. Professor Blay has developed and taught such courses as Engendering Black Popular Culture, the Politics of Hip Hop Culture, Black Images in the Media, Dimensions of Racism, and Black Feminisms….”Yaba’s research interests are related to Africana cultural aesthetics and aesthetic practices, the politics of embodiment and African/Black identities, issues of gender in Africa and the Diaspora, Black popular culture, and critical media literacy. Her dissertation, Yellow Fever: Skin Bleaching and the Politics of Skin Color in Ghana, relies upon African-centered and African feminist methodologies to investigate the social practice of skin bleaching in Ghana….” READ MORE

As a a long time fan of WBAI, it’s always great to hear a Ghanaian voice even if it comes in a British accent-LOL! Esther Armah is not only a sweet in the morning radio voice but also a writer whose first book “Can I Be Me” -a collection of essays about her travels as a journalist navigating her Black British identity across Africa & America- hit the top 10 list for best selling books for January and February on the website African American Literature Book Club dedicated to books by and about global Africans/Black people.

“Esther Armah is a radio & tv host, playwright and award-winning international journalist. In New York, she hosts Wake Up Call, WBAI 99.5FM’s morning show and is a regular commentator and guest host on GRITtv with Laura Flanders  and MNN’s Ancestor House with Camille Yarbrough. Esther has written extensively on African Diaspora issues for The Guardian in London, Essencemagazine in the US and West Africa magazine in Africa and Europe. The themes of her written work are reflected in the issues portrayed  in Armah’s four New York stage plays,  Can I Be Me? Forgive Me? Entitled! and SAVIOUR? Esther is the creator and moderator of ‘Afrolicious: an Emotional Justice Arts and Conversation’ series in New York. A global citizen, she now lives in Brooklyn, New York…(Source Here)

PHILANTHROPISTS

To say June Sarpong is a trailblazer is to say the least about her many accomplishments. This young icon of British television has become one of the best known Ghanaian philanthropist with honours from Buckingham Palace as an ambassador of  the Prince’s Trust along with being a Co-Founder with her fellow Bristish Ghanaian and former Hollywood executive Dee Poku of W.I.E (Women: Inspiration and Enterprise) – an organization that empowers and inspires women through its websites, symposiums and community.

“This month’s profile is a TV/radio personality who was at the forefront of urban youth TV programmes during my teenage years.  In era where “dark skin” women were not shown much love on TV she was a pioneer of the “young black female presenter”, here’s her story; Sarpong was born in London to Ghanaian parents. She was educated at Connaught Girls School in Leytonstone and Sir George Monoux College in Walthamstow. She began her media career with Kiss 100 and later became an MTV UK & Ireland presenter (MTV Dance Floor Chart and MTV Select show). As the one of the female faces of Channel 4’s Sunday morning strand T4 for the last nine years, she interviewed Tony Blair for a T4 special, When Tony Met June which aired in January 2005. She also runs her own production company, Lipgloss Productions. Projects in development include a sitcom and a programme on climate change…In recent years, Sarpong has presented other series including Your Face Or Mine?, a game show co-hosted with Jimmy Carr for E4; Dirty Laundry, an urban talk-show which was an original idea of Sarpong’s; Playing It Straight, a dating game-show filmed in Mexico for Channel 4, and Sarpong has presented the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party and the Party In The Park. Sarpong is a regular at the MOBO Awards and has presented them for three years in a row. She has also appeared on BBC Television’s Question Time, 8 out of 10 Cats, and Have I got news for you. She also has appeared on the programme, Never mind the buzzcocks and introduced reports on youth culture for This Week. In 2006 she hosted ITV2′s WAGs Boutique. Sarpong has also appeared on the third series of Bo Selecta…)…Sarpong is an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust and also campaigns for the Make Poverty History movement. In April 2005 she visited Ghana to make a film for Make Poverty History. She also hosted the major Make Poverty History event in London’s Trafalgar Square in summer 2005 on behalf of Nelson Mandela and Bob Geldof. Also On 7 July 2007 Sarpong presented at the UK leg of Live Earth at Wembley Stadium, London…Probably her most significant honour to date came at the age of twenty nine and after six years as a broadcaster, she was awarded an MBE in the 2007 New Year Honours List for “services to broadcasting and charity”…. READ MORE

Nana Eyeson-Akiwowo while building her career in editorial positions at globally known publications like Seventeen and Essence, established her charitable organization African Health Now to make sure that global Africans without money and insurance would be able to have basic healthcare after the personal experience of her father suffering a heart attack in Ghana catapulted her to seek to make a difference for others who are less fortunate financially but just as deserving of proper healthcare. Nana’s annual healthcare drives in Ghana where she comes as mother Christmas, fundraising and organizing Ghanaians to come together to take care of the basic healthcare needs of our communities has now been expanded to include the diaspora with an ever growing number of global Africans unable to receive basic healthcare because of lack of insurance and money.

“In 2006 my father suffered a heart attack in a taxi cab after leaving the hospital and being treated for numbness in the leg. Considering that at my father’s age at the time he was 68, any US hospital would have automatically checked his heart and other vitals especially if he came in for numbness in the leg or any lack of mobility of the leg or arms. However that is not the case in Ghana, at most hospitals you could barely get to see a doctor let alone have someone run your vitals. And though we were fortunate enough to have the means to get him better care, it made me wonder what happens to people who don’t have the means. And who speaks for them? ” READ MORE

Rebekah Frimpong -Filmmaker/Poet/Mentor/Activist and Philanthropist has manifested her words “Revolution over loot! Africa must be free in our hearts, Africa is our home only we can change the landscape of tomorrow”, as she works tirelessly to keep her dreams of being a great filmmaker alive while helping others manifest their dreams through her philanthropic work  with her Mama Africa charitable program. Rebekah is constantly on the move in creativity with all her heart and soul poured into project after project regardless of the obstacles and challenges put in her way as a filmmaker and philanthropist.

“Rebekah A. Ofori-Frimpong was a Miss Ghana Africa USA 2010/11 finalist in the Miss Africa USA 2010/11 Pageant , she is also a mentor, teacher, filmmaker, and activist.  As a Miss Ghana USA 2010/11 finalist, she pushed for a platform of Global Health for Africa and for Africans living in the United States.  She believes that a new face of African health is possible by encouraging African people to empower themselves through healthy lifestyles.  Her approach to Global Health and presenting a new face of African health is to connect communities in the United States and Africa through a three tier approach that will encompass social, environmental, and preventative measures in relation to improving health conditions worldwide.  She attributes her success to her mother and the many strong women in her life.  She has studied Public Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and has a pre-med degree in psychology and life science from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has had many years of experience in clinical research, education, women’s health, and environmental studies.  She developed MaMa Africa concept four years ago after working with teenage mothers in Virginia.  The MaMa Africa program, Rebekah hopes will be something that can be implemented around the world and she aims to reach at least 1, 000 mothers by 2012…” READ  MORE

Menaye Donkor Muntari- former Miss Universe Ghana 2003, Model, Actress, Philanthropist prides herself in being an image role model for young girls, particularly young global African girls, by promoting a healthy body image that comes with self love and confidence. Menaye’s modeling career and editorial credits span from Africa to Europe and America including being the only African woman featured in Fox Sports sexiest World Cup WAGs (Football wives & girlfriends) in 2010 along with a feature in Maxim Magazine’s Italian edition ,just to name a few. Menaye has an ongoing health & fitness blog with OK! Magazine’s Famously Fit and will be a guest judge on the African based Project Runway styled show entitled “Fashion Power” shooting in Ghana & Nigeria. Menaye is not only a beautiful model, but also a great philanthropist who recently commissioned an ICT center at her namesake charity school for boys and girls in Ghana. Menaye has been a great role model for young girls in Ghana with her push for education, AIDS awareness and her upcoming new fashion based shows making the dreams of young fashion designers and fashionistas from Ghana come true with an opportunity for mentorship and to promote their designs internationally. The Menaye International School in the central region of Ghana offers free education to over 150 underprivileged children and she continues to build a brighter future for Ghana one child at a time.

MUSIC IS A WEAPON

The daughters of Yaa Asantewaa have taken over the music world in the craziest of ways from opera, to rap, to R& B, to dance, to hip-hop, to pop and all sorts of mixtures and inflections brought together thru their global African experiences. These women know the power of music and they use it as a weapon to tell our global African stories while debunking the myth of a singular African sound. There are so many greats musically coming out of this generation but here are  a few of the ones to watch.

Born in Battersea to Ghanaian parents, Tawiah’s soulful rock melodies with gospel inflections compliment her quirky rainbow child punk rock fashion stylethat is very much her own. One can clearly hear & see the culmination in adaption of her personal influences which she touts as Kim Burrell, Björk, Radiohead, Erykah Badu & Ella Fitzgerald as her musical favorites & Vivenne Westwood as her fashion favorite. Tawiah comes to us from the Brit School peforming academy in London,which boasts recent success stories like Amy Winehouse, Adele & Leona Lewis. Tawiah’s short resume in music is impressive as she has rocked the stage singing backup for Corinne Bailey Rae & touring with uber producer Mark Ronson’s band. Taiwah recently inked a deal with Warner Music Group & is ready to take the world by storm as yet another child of the Black Star nation who will meet a meteoric rise to fame!

Vienna-born and raised, with parents from Ghana, Anbuley is a vocalist with presence and a style that sticks in the mind. She’s also got an unerring sensibility when it comes to drawing on those roots of hers to make inspired dance music…’The singer started out adding her resonant voice to some deep, Africa-inspired bass tracks with producers like Bert on Beats and Ku Bo. If you heard those, you remember them. Last year, she put out her equally memorable Tsakemo EP, followed by the Kemo’ Yoo Keke EP on Austria’s Seayou Records.The cuts mix the stunning efficiency of Euro dance with the organic power of the traditional music Anbuley grew up with. A lot of that power is channeled through her voice. And it sounds even more heavy when you know “Kemo’ Yoo Keke” is about not letting people push you around….” READ MORE

While American Hip-Hop connoisseurs debate over whether the Australian import and newly signed artist on T.I.’s Grand Hustle label, Iggy Azalea, or the toast of European fashion couture houses and Harlem stunner Azealia Banks are the two to watch in the new renaissance of female MC’s to give the reigning queen Nicki Minaj a run for her money and talent; the other side of the atlantic is toasting Ghana’s own dominating female MC and Queen of Azonto, Tiffany, who will be making her US debut at Ghana’s 55th Independence Concert on March 17th, 2012 at the Armenia Hall Ballroom produced by Boogie Down Nima Productions.

Rhian Benson Born in Accra, and raised in Wales, Ghana and India, Rhian grew up in a very musical environment. Her Welsh mother was an accomplished singer, and her father, an Ashanti naval officer, is a gifted guitarist. Rhian started playing piano at the age of nine and picked up guitar soon after and before long, a budding singer songwriter. Behind the warm honeyed voice is a sharp mind, Rhian gained an economics degree at the London School of Economics and worked in banking in the City for a time, a somewhat stark contrast to her own desires for a life in music. Her studies continued at Harvard in America, until her mother fell ill and Rhian returned home to care for her ailing mother. With time to think she found healing and release in music and decided to chase her singing dreams, feeling as though it was a risk worth taking in order to dance her heart’s dreams into life. With the help of Danish rising star production duo, Daniel Fridell and Jonas Rendbo, Rhian has diligently and lovingly cooked up the ingredients for her new album title ‘Hands Clean’ to be released in early 2011. HANDS CLEAN is a refreshing departure from Rhian’s previous work. Rhian’s well known sultry vibes are teamed with a collection of pulsating electronic grooves to introduce her fans to a hidden ground where Sade meets DJ Shadow. This is a bold album that dares to redefine modern soul music. Rhian has been nurturing her expressive style and is looking forward to showing the world more of her exquisite soulful sound. Everything about this album has been organic and refreshing, and Rhian is quoted as saying: “I met Jonas and Daniel for a brief writing session in Copenhagen a while ago and we just hit it off immediately, the guys were so passionate about creating truthful music that speaks from the soul to the soul. They instantly understood the sound and feel I was looking for… so I asked them to produce the entire album with me and I thank God they said yes!’ Rhian’s sophomore album -‘Hands Clean’- represents a strong evolution of her unique style and ventures into fresh and bold sonic terrain for the critically acclaimed singer/songwriter. These confessional tales of love and life represent a new direction for this singular artist as she journeys beyond the ‘Gold Coast’. “I experienced great change in my life since writing my first album so when I began writing ‘Hands Clean’ all I wanted to do was create a sound that in some way captured that state of flux”. READ MORE

As far as an authetic soul sound of Ghana goes there is no other than the reigning queen Rebecca Acheampong, AKA Becca, who has taken Ghana and Africa at large by storm with powerful music celebrating positivity, womanhood and sisterhood.  The glowing beauty of Becca shines as bright as a black star on a clear moonlit night when she calls us to Push and bring the Fire of  an African woman.

“Becca, the latest sensation in Ghana Music. The beautiful, simple and young looking 22 year old lady, an old student of Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast and Croydon College in London where she attained her certificate in Child Care and Education is back to her motherland Ghana to prove what she is made of…”. READ MORE

And Then there’s the incomparable Ghanaian Hungarian who goes by the name Sena. Sena is amongst the many European daughters of Yaa who are taking over the world of truly global music with versatility and their pulse firmly placed in their African foundation, such as  German Ghanaian songstress Y’akoto . To say the world needs a bit of Sena Dagadu in their life is truly an understatement because Sena’s effortlessly powerful voice resonates within the soul with that sort of soothing satiation that makes one remember why music is as essential to life as water and should be cherished in pure love. Yes I am a big fan of Sena, whether she is lending her voice to the reggae rhythms of her band Irie Maffia, taking us through the journey of global Jazz’s soul with Forward Ever or Barabas Lorinc Eklektric, FOKN’ around with the Bois in Ghana and Budapest or blowing our minds with another unexpected solo project that introduces us to a new sound in how we hear Shakespeare’s sonnets. Sena is the truth, fully representing for Hungary and the Black Star Nation of Ghana as a musical daughter who would make Yaa Asantewaa proud as she takes over the world with her electrifying sound. Now sit back and enjoy a truly independent global Black Star experience!

“The Future of Ghana is Bright …provided our leaders will make good use of financial resources…I believe that Ghana can do much better by investing in its people. I think that if you don’t provide education and training at all levels, we will miss that boat because Paradise is right here in Ghana. I believe it…I think we have a great Ghana but we have more to go but we have all the pieces in place to polish up into a wonderful place…God put us at the center of the universe for a reason. We are the shining bright start of Africa and I think Ghana is coming into its own…I also believe that Ghanians this year have taken a whole new appreciation for Ghana, but at the bottom of it is we need to work out our economics because at the end of the day it boils down to our economic strength apart from our spiritual strength. We’re thru with poverty, we’re thru with being highly indebted anything, we’re thru… I think we are going to a new place, completely new and it will have nothing to do with the spirit of poverty because there’s a spiritual awakening also happening right now in Ghana and that awakening is also identifying what that spirit of poverty looks like and we will have nothing to do with it. I think 10 years from now if we should have this interview again , we’ll be telling a different story…”

“I want to see a time when the children of Africa will not have a need to go overseas to make it..” Princess Asie Ocansey- CEO Neko Tech Centre -Daughters of Yaa Asantewaa

Photo Credit HERE

With all things Africa being the “new black” in global fashion, once again Vogue Italia’s Editor in Cheif, Franca Sozzani dared to do what her counterparts Black, White or other alike do not do. Franca Sozzani recently took an explorational mentoring tour of Africa to see for herself what the buzz about the so called “New African Fashion” was all about, so she can hopefully represent it properly &  in its authentic full spectrum outside of European & American embellishment & aesthetic. As much as many Black publications in America & Europe give lip service to the lack of  Black inclusion in publications like Vogue, where are they in seeking out & mentoring global African design talents who would love the opportunity to learn from & be showcased in their publications just as much as Vogue. For 2012 I hope we look deeper into the goings on & dealings of our own houses & try to do better by ourselves as much as we complain about what others don’t do. Say what you will, but know when to give credit where it is due & in this case Franca Sozzani has come to resurrect an economically forward moving ideal of Pan-Africanism, where it is less about shared pigmentation & more about a shared mindset toward Africa’s global fusion.  Grazie a voi vi applaudire Franca for once again doing what others only talk about!

“When Franca Sozzani, editor of Vogue Italia, visited the Huffington Post offices last month she revealed that her proudest professional moment was publishing the “Black Issue,” which helped promote diversity in the fashion industry. Well, she continued that campaign with a trip to the African country of Ghana to mentor a group of designers from the WEB-Young Designers Hub. “You have lots of potential in this country. During my stay in Africa, I visited Togo and Nigeria but it was only here in Ghana I noted an authentic sense of fashion. In designing your creations, make sure that they feature not only references to Ghanaian culture but also have an international appeal so that your garments can also be successful also abroad.” READ MORE

“In Accra Franca Sozzani met both with Kofi Ansah, a young designer from Ghana and the young talents of The WEB-Young Designers Hub, an association of local young fashion designers who hosted a runway show of their collections in her honour…” READ MORE

For many fashionistas the name Kofi Ansah maybe unfamiliar, but for those of us who are true connoisseurs of progressive avant-garde haute couture style African fashion, Kofi Ansah represents the creme de la creme of modern day icons in traditionally inspired global fashion. His global resume is long- from working with Guy Laroche in Paris & Cecil Gee in London, he has had well over 20 years building his signature aesthetic in Europe before returning to Ghana to rejuvenate & rebuild its fashion industry to become a global contender.

Kofi Ansah is by far the go to designer in Ghana who has been lauded with accolades of honor to represent the fashion of Ghana at major national celebrations. He was the winner of the prestigious Millennium 2000 African Fashion Awards along with being the chosen designer to design the highly coveted Ghana at 50 anniversary cloth fabric for the Ghana at 50 Golden Jubilee Celebration. Kofi Ansah also designed the costumes for the opening & closing ceremony of the CAN 2008 African Cup of Nations that was staged in Ghana to international acclaim. I am sure it was a great learning & giving experience for both the Vogue Italia team & Kofi Ansah along with the members of WEB because fashion is so cyclical  & global that we all have something to bring to the table to share & learn. Ghana is coming into its own in creative vibrancy in celebrating past greats such as iconic fashion Photographer James Barnor & building a future for its creatives with a strong foundation that is becoming more & more undeniable by the world. The Black Star Nation is truly shining & the world just can’t seem to get enough. As we like to say Akwaaba- Welcome to Our World!

From the Motherland to the world -WE ARE AFRICAN & WE REPRESENT: Ghana @50 Fabric By Kofi Ansah, Dress design by Onyx Noize for PGF (Product of Global Fusion)

I attended the panel discussion on Helen Jennings’s book “New African Fashion” at the New York Public library the other night. As a great fan of Ghanaian designer Mimi Plange , Somali designers Ayaan and Idyl Mohallim, the website Heritage 1960 & Arise magazine, I figured this would be a great lesson on what this so called “New African Fashion” is because these are some of the top young new faces representing this concept to the world at large. At a time when there is new found glory for African fashion with many African designers trying to navigate their way through international exposure amongst the plethora of non-African designers creating or copying African designs & aesthetics in fabrics & silhouettes, I wanted to finally understand what exactly is so new.

I realized that this idea of “New African Fashion” is only really new to those who have never known nor just chose to ignore African fashion through the centuries until the western world dubbed  our global African flyness worthy of being celebrated once again. I just came back from a trip to Ghana, where I was schooled on the fact that I like many have fallen into the trap of the semantics  of calling things “new” as if we are somehow reinventing the wheel that had already been sprung generations before many of us were even born. I had on a top that I created for my PGF (Product of Global Fusion) capsule collection, which my aunt quickly recognized & informed me that the fabric I was wearing was not just “African Print” but actually had its own individual name & was an old fabric from when she was a child. I was happy to have been taken out of my own ignorance to be educated on the fact that every fabric design, although generalized to the world as “African print” actually had a name , history & story behind it- which I like most in the western world who have embraced what is now the ubiquity of African prints in fashion have been completely oblivious to. I was further made to feel like the ignorant westerner when my mom & my aunt went in to tell me that the pencil skirt & jacket that I wanted made was boring & old & that now they had some hot new styles & silhouettes that I should consider. I nearly gagged in my laughter because here I was thinking that I was so fashion forward as my elders told me to have a seat & schooled me on what was really haute! As I looked through old family photos of my mom, aunt, uncles, grandmother & grandfather,  it became apparent that this whole idea of “New African Fashion” was just the latest buzz term for the regurgitation of what was only new to a new generation without a firm grasp of our history. As Geydu Blay Ambolley,  the father of hip-hop music in Ghana, said in my documentary Black Star Rising “Everything derived from Africa, they just take it, redefine it & sell it back to us“! Truer words have never been spoken as I thumbed through Ms. Jennings’s book to find the same images that those of us in fashion have seen over & over again as representative of African fashion & attempting to educate us on what many of us already know & live as Africans.

“African wax prints are generally known to have patterns that tell stories of relevance to the wearer. These include proverbs, poems and traditional African fables. The colours also hold significance as they can represent social standing, age, tribal orientation and marital status. The term ‘African print’ was generally used by the European textile firms in Africa to identify fabrics that were machine-printed and had wax resins and dyes on both sides of the cloth to achieve batik effect. The history of African prints dates back to when batik wax-resist textiles were first imported into Africa from Indonesia in the 1800s, through West African soldiers that served in Indonesia from early 1800s to just beyond the mid 1800s. These batik wax-resist fabrics were also brought into Africa by European traders, mainly the Dutch. The fabrics were then customized and designed to reflect local African tradition, culture and symbolisms. Many of the designs found on fabrics depict events, proverbs, persons of importance or local flora and fauna. African prints are mostly found in Cote d’ Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Nigeria. They can also be found in many Central and Eastern African countries. The use of African wax prints outside of Africa is now also on the increase. Many Westerners are accepting the beautiful and natural blend the fabrics portray in every design. Felix Anaman of Felix Anaman Clothing says his fashion house has excelled over the years because it believes in playing and promoting the African fabric, together with the design concepts that go with it. He stated, “It has been predicted by fashion experts that African prints are what will make fashion fashionable in some few years to come, which is why we, as designers, ought to promote it.” READ MORE

“IN the years since Yves Saint Laurent showed his iconic 1967 “African” collection, fashion designers have repeatedly tapped the heritage of Africa in search of inspiration. Just last season Burberry and Michael Kors were among several labels that mined the continent as a source of ideas. Yet in the popular imagination, especially in the Western hemisphere, African fashion more often than not means animal prints, mud cloth and cowrie shells. In her new work, “New African Fashion” (Prestel; $35), Helen Jennings, a fashion journalist, hopes to broaden that view. Part coffee-table book, part glossary, it highlights designers — some established, some fledgling — whose work is African made or inspired.While there is no single way to describe African style, the fashion industry tends to favor characterizations that to many people smack of condescension. “Fashion is full of meaningless terms like ‘tribal’ and ‘urban,’ ” said Ms. Jennings, who is also the editor of Arise, a two-year-old monthly African fashion and culture glossy. “Like the word ‘exotic’ — it makes me cringe.”“African fashion hasn’t been documented very well,” the author told the audience. She and the panelists were emphatic that African fashion did not have to fit a preconceived notion of what is “African.”Ms. Plange studied architecture and rarely uses traditional prints or textiles in her garments.“I want to prove to people that African fashion can’t be pigeonholed,” she said. “I can compete globally.” Her craftsmanship got the attention of André Leon Talley, who helped edit her fall 2011 collection. She also collaborated with Manolo Blahnik…” READ MORE

It seems that generation after generation we are all complicit in consuming the same ol’ same ol‘ in convincing ourselves that we have invented something new. From global African music, fashion & overall culture it seems we always have to wait & praise westerners for telling our stories & teaching us about our history. This is nothing new, all you have to do is watch films like Cadillac Records or even know the simple history of hip-hop fashion that became the soup dujour to the fashion world after Tommy Hilfiger took it  down the runway, while global Africans like Karl Kani , Willi Smith & so many others had already popularized it on global concrete runways long before Tommy Hilfiger made it so called “acceptable” outside of our global African tribes. Right now the narrative that most western journalist tell about “African Prints” is that most of the African market share come from the Dutch company Vlisco completely negating the fact that there are major and small scale African owned and African based companies like GTP and ATP that design and market homegrown African textiles to a larger African market than their european counterparts, who may have introduced these prints to the African market with Africans perfecting it in African authenticity years later. These African based and owned companies are on a constant battle to survive because they do not have these high powered lawyers or proper government regulations to protect the African’s market share along with fighting off Chinese and European knock offs, international press going out of the box to truly seek the story from the people who have globally popularize “African Prints” to a point now that it it solely associated with the continent instead of just surface research, and the the general overall mindset locally and globally that somehow Africans don’t know their worth until Westerners come to put a price on it. At some point we have to take real responsibility in protecting & preserving our culture globally by not repeating the same mistakes of the past.

I was told that Helen Jennings, Editor of Arise, gave a great presentation of African fashion before I got there, which I missed because I was caught up in yet another Ocuppy Wall Street protest, which this time directly targeted President Obama in yet another multi-million dollar fundraising event in New York with protest signs saying “Obama is owned by Wall Street”, which isn’t too far from the truth when we see how much wall street corporate money goes into financing all political campaigns eventhough politicians swear up & down  that they are somehow different from the rest who serve the interest of lobbyists more than the interests of the people who elect them & who they make tons of campaign promises to every year- to serve them differently than those who came before them. All around the world same song- same fuckery. By the time I was finally able to enter the library through the crowd of protestors outside, the panel was already in full discussion mode with Ms. Jennings seemingly quiet & somehow distracted or disconnected from the discussion as if she didn’t really want to be there anymore as a European selling the history of African fashion to a standing room only crowd of global Africans. I guess it was a good thing that the presentation went on for too long to allow time for a Q & A for someone like me & some others to keep it all the way real-LOL!

“We’ve basically been exporting our culture…the west has taken/borrowed a lot from Africa; whereas Africans have just sat down & let their own culture be taken away from them, but now it’s a renaissance- we are claiming back what is ours & we’re adding value to what is ours to make it globally acceptable & globally appealing!” READ MORE

I was able to catch the part of the discussion that interests me the most when it comes to African fashion, which is the actual business of selling & attaining financial gain from the creations of African designers & a general workforce in the African fashion industry. There was a general consensus amongst the panel with Mimi Plange keeping it all the way real in exclaiming that she is in the business of fashion to make money & not just for the hype of the plethora of African fashion week shows sprouting up all over the world, focused more on hype & publicity rather than getting these designers into retail stores & educating them on the actual business of fashion that is a multi-billion dollar industry, where the financial gain amongst African designers is extremely disproportionate to their western counterparts who are defining this so called “New African Fashion”, much like it has always been for everything invented & created by global Africans throughout the years. I heard the usual & almost insulting excuse of “it takes time” because somehow Africans need to be educated on the basics of just putting together a quality fashion show production as if African owned production houses like ASHA , who I have worked with for many years along with so many others, have never done shows for New York Fashion week & other fashion weeks all over the world before Arise Magazine & others came with their new platforms to showcase African designers. This is all BS to me because I have been working in the industry for over 14 years & I am not the only African who has been doing so on many levels from publicity, to show production, to retail buying & management, to design & everything else that comes with the business of fashion. The main issue here is that African experts in these fields are never sought after by many companies- African or otherwise because we somehow continue to believe that non-Africans know best  & fall in line to always look outside of our communities to get ahead & progress in many & sometimes all of our business ventures, without ever acknowledging that we have excellent resources within our global community.

Why should it take time to bring in buyers to a fashion show when anyone who handles publicity & show production knows that the focus of any fashion show is to sell & make money for the designer; therefore retail buyer outreach is more important than having random celebrities, fashionistas & socialites in your front row, who often will never buy 1 piece from any designer that doesn’t give them something for free. Many of the people who attend these African Fashion Week shows around the world are there mostly to be seen & for the party atmosphere, most of them will never go out of their way to seek out the designers showing to actually patronize them with the money that they freely give to the Guccis  & Vuittons of the world. I have said there was an issue with the fact that I saw very few to no buyers from the beginning, as I applauded the first Arise Magazine New York Fashion Week show that gave new life to showcasing African designers that had been done, sponsored & stopped by Anglogold Ashanti years before Arise Magazine came on the scene. My sentiments have been taken by some as “hating” & being overly critical to those who are trying to do something great for the African fashion industry, but all I can say to that is that we can never grow if we can not accept constructive criticism & it takes resources & money to create an industry because while press hype is great, it doesn’t pay the bills or give anyone but press & those who put out these kinds of books any concrete jobs to support an industry. What Africa needs more than anything in all sectors is real jobs & to build on structures that are already in place to create more jobs, not more applause, pats on the back, more it takes time talk & meager handouts to show that we are trying to build an industry that has already been in place outside of  the structure that is deemed acceptable to the western world.

‎”If you want to address poverty, you have to bring work-it’s value creation. We’re not here to make charity t-shirts , We are here to make a product & why not come here? There’s a skill base that is being developed. We’re doing good. They are capable of doing great things. It’s quite incredible to think we might save the world thru fashion” . Vivienne Westwood & the Westwood Team on manufacturing in Kenya

I thought it was a great step in the right direction when Mimi Plange spoke about looking to manufacture & build factories in Ghana to produce her collection, which will build the industry by creating concrete jobs while building the “Made in Africa” label, just as Made in America, Made in France, Made in Italy, Made in China & other “Made In” labels have built brands that are globally recognized & esteemed with a specific focus in tailoring & manufacturing that is uniquely symbolic of those nations. Africa needs people who are formidable partners in their true growth financially, not just those who want to continue the usual exploitation & telling Africans it takes time to develop while others are profiting without waiting for the so called time it takes to actually see the financial gains. The Somali twins who design Maatano expressed their desire to have the opportunity to be the ones at the forefront to bring Africans designs created by Africans with them specifically in mind before the Zara’s & H&M’s of the world flood Africa, which I also thought was an excellent idea that must come to fruition with Africans supporting them because African Fashion is not based on one specific aesthetic of prints, it cuts across all varieties of cultures & styles from casual to formal, to traditional & all points in between. The designers of Maatano also made it a point to point out that while in their predominantly Muslim mother country of Somalia, there are only really two silhouettes which most of the women wear & add their individuality to it through color palate  & the beautiful jewelry which they adorn themselves with; their personal aesthetic with Maatano is much more than just two silhouettes influenced by their Somali heritage.

This brings me to the fact that we also have to be aware of consuming the idea that there is somehow one set idea of what African Fashion is supposed to represent in a continent that is now broken up into 56 countries. I was actually shocked & taken aback the other day as I walked into my local Jamaican resturant when the gentlemen who was serving me looked at me & said “Are you from Africa?”, I ofcourse happily replied “Yes”, then he went on to tell me that the woman that had just left was from my country. I looked at him with a side eye since I had not mentioned which country I was from  & I could clearly decipher that the woman that just left was from a francophone African country & not from Ghana, so I said “How do you know she’s from my country”, he then went on & replied “you’re from Africa right, she’s from Africa too”.  I replied, “Is Jamaica the same as Trinidad , Haiti, Dominican Republic or St. Lucia even though they are all in the Caribbean?” He looked at me in shamefully realizing his mistake & ignorance & said “Miss that’s not nice”.  I shook my head & thought wow, here we go again with me having to explain to someone that Africa is a continent with many countries, who speak thousands of different languages. I was disheartened especially because I had to explain this to someone who I would have thought would know better coming from the nation of Bob Marley & the Maroons , who have always spoken of their African heritage as Jamaicans, while sighting specific countries of origin. This man who was well into his 40’s was shocked when I told him that we all speak different languages & that there were thousands of languages in Africa. I guess this is the burden & calling we have to take on as global Africans, making sure we are there for these teaching moments with our own firm grasp of our languages & our history, so we can set the record right in our representation.

The generalization that there is one African aesthetic in fashion, outside of the idea that Africa really represents a true global aesthetic in its African authenticity because it is the root of humanity needs to be better addressed & defined in building the African Fashion industry. We have only ourselves to blame in our acceptance of the mixed messages that we often send. We have African designers saying that they just want to be seen as designers & not African designers, while talking about building the African fashion industry & complaining about how non-Africans are copying & defining what the African fashion industry should be or look like. We can’t have it both ways. You don’t hear Dontaella Versace complaining about being called an Italian designer or the house of Chloe & Louise Vuitton being upset by the fact that they are considered the epitome & embodiment of French design & aesthetic. Vivienne Westwood manufacturing her collection in Kenya does not make her any less an English designer or anymore an African designer than her counterparts like Burberry & others who have taken African prints & made them their own, nor does Marc Jacobs designing for Louis Vuitton make him a French designer or make the Louise Vuitton aesthetic considered American instead of authentically French.  African designers do not have to do collections with solely or any wax or mud prints at all to make them authentically part of African fashion.  What differentiates these African designers from the rest is that they are African from their roots; therefore their design influence will always be African inspired with an African personality, whether they are utilizing African prints or not because the history is carried along with them season after season, much like their European & American counterparts. It is up to us as publicist, writers, fashion editors,stylists, buyers,designers, manufacturers, show production entities etc. to speak to the African consumer & to let them know that we have done the research as to what they want, who they are & what suits their African personality in order to bring them in to support African designers just as much or more so than they support European, American & Chinese made goods , which have been flooding the African continent to the peril of the African Fashion Industry.

We need to speak to the African consumer in our advertising & educate them that building the African Fashion Industry means supporting, buying & wearing the products created by African designers not just jumping on the bandwagon & consuming the European, Chinese & American made goods & designers who are selling them their idea of what new African fashion is. We need to come to a point in our industry where each one of us takes personal responsibility in telling our own stories & building our own industry with a true African personality in mind, void of the cliche terms of “new African fashion” & kowtowing to global appeal by westernizing what is & has always been authentically African from the fruit to the root. If we truly believe that Africa is where humanity began & that there is a specific African identity that comes & evolves in newness of creativity from nation to nation, then we have to be more diligent in putting that message out there in a concise & consistent manner instead of just falling in line with the status quo of having our story redefined, pigeonholed & told to us by non-Africans, no matter how much they tell us that they love us & want to help us build by following their way & structure.

As most of you who have read my writings know, I am far from a PC(Politically Correct) African. My concept of Global Fusion is less about some sort of gumbo inspired “kumbaya” melting pot, where Africa with all its rich history & contributions to the world blends in or metamorphosizes into an acceptable western aesthetic, as opposed to shining a light on the fact that Africa is where humanity began with great influence throughout global culture that has now been watered down,devoid of its spices or redefined to appease or appeal to different segments of the world. I prefer my jollof rice authentically flavor filled with the hotness of spices that makes you feel it within your bones & soul without any Asian or Italian noodles added to it- as it is being done now in Ghana- because an Italian or Asian will not kowtow to appeasing me my serving me their national taste with shito & African flavors added to it.

I thumbed through the book “New African Fashion”, but I must admit that I didn’t purchase it because I refuse to continue the same ol’ story of having my history be told to me by those who have never truly been immersed in the culture & history until they saw profit to be made. I am not saying that this is not a great well put together book, but it does not show or tell me anything that I have not already seen & known before, so in that case I would rather give my hard earned money to global Africans who are also telling our stories from an authentically African perspective like Jacqueline Shaw with her new book Fashion Africa. It always seems like for global Africans to share their passion, vision & expertise with the world on the global Africa that they were born into, & live & breath daily -they always have to do it with their own money  to the point of going bankrupt in their labors of love to make their dreams come true. For Instance look at the amazing work done by Nigerian born Oroma Elewa with Pop’ Africana, which gives Vogue such a run for its money that they have had to acknowledge her & her work many times in their own publication. If one woman with a vision & a dream to be & showcase the new face of Africa can create such greatness with her own money & limited resources, imagine what she could do with the right financial backing & the same access  given to the Helen Jennings of the world, who are always sought after to be the face, vision & expert on all things African brought to the world’s attention?  I am not implying that non-global Africans shouldn’t be allowed to write books about Africa; however I am questioning the expert title given to these writers who are telling stories of people & places that they are often no more than passerby’s  & visitors of, while those who actually have been immersed in & live the culture are often passed over for equal opportunities to tell their own stories. This is my real issue in all of this, which goes beyond just one woman’s book. How often, if ever, are non-Europeans given the opportunity to be entitled to the title of “expert” in writing about or presenting European culture to the world? I can hear the loud sounds of crickets in many not being able to find any examples of this.

I am not afraid to be called racist, nationalist or pro-African because I would rather support my fellow global Africans who are truly the ones who have had to live the culture, put in the work, build our industry, give us accolades in support,  & are the true keepers & storytellers of our history, much like Andrew Dosunmu , Yinka Shonibare, James Barnor , Constance C.R. White & so many more past & present who have been telling & showcasing the beauty of global African fashion, culture & aesthetics long before Ms. Jennings thought to teach us about what she considers “New African Fashion”.

“When Franca Sozzani, editor of Vogue Italia, visited the Huffington Post offices last month she revealed that her proudest professional moment was publishing the “Black Issue,” which helped promote diversity in the fashion industry. Well, she continued that campaign with a trip to the African country of Ghana to mentor a group of designers from the WEB-Young Designers Hub. You have lots of potential in this country. During my stay in Africa, I visited Togo and Nigeria but it was only here in Ghana I noted an authentic sense of fashion. In designing your creations, make sure that they feature not only references to Ghanaian culture but also have an international appeal so that your garments can also be successful also abroad.” READ MORE

It always amazes me how we justify our own lack of consistency in rhetoric of what we support & give acclamation to. The same fashionistas who raged all hell about Essence Magazine losing touch with their readership & consumer base by hiring a White Fashion Director as the face of a magazine dedicated to African-American women are the same ones who praise Arise & tout it as the new era representation of global Africa, without acknowledging the fact that the main vision in charge of this so called new global African aesthetic is also a European with a magazine created in Europe with African financial backing. These are the same people who are in charge of Black publications that never think to expand globally into Africa, the Caribbean & Latin America in service of the billion plus global Africans there, who would be more than appreciative to see their own likeness as well, while they consistently hire White photographers to capture our aesthetic in some ill-conceived idea of diversity, as qualified Black photographers sit around waiting to be called upon & to get a fair check by being given the same opportunity & access that is denied to them by non-global African focused publications. These are the same fashionistas who applaud any time Vogue gives a cover to a person of color or a European or American designer puts more than one model of color in an Ad. campaign or on their runway, while failing to challenge global African publications & designers to be the change they want to see by putting more African faces & creatives in their own publications, Ad. campaigns & runways. Why is it so taboo or somehow not representing diversity if Tracy Reese or Oswald Boateng sends all Black models down the runway, or Essence, Arise or Ebony doing special issues with solely global African representation as Vogue Italia & Lanvin did with us all applauding them for doing so as some sort of evolvement in new era progress as an industry since the days of Versailles. It is never considered taboo or shocking for non-Black American & European designers & publications to steadily only utilize European & American White models & designers, as we continue to complain then praise them for giving us special issues in diversity statements by sending all or some global African models down their runways once in awhile, in an attempt to appease us for the mean time.

I am actually a fan of Arise magazine & applaud them for their efforts in bringing about the much needed dialogue of who we are as Africans & our place & progress in the world of fashion &  global culture in general, but I am not going to pretend that it is anything new from the status quo of Africa being sold to us from a European vision. If we want to have an honest conversation about building Africa then let’s start by being honest with ourselves & start supporting global Africans who are doing everything possible to tell our stories without the international & national support, hype & access that has always been afforded to their western counterparts. Let’s start by having a vision & a stance that truly represents a new Africa that does not remain conditioned by its conditioning in being the definition of insanity by doing the same things the same way, over & over again & expecting new results. As Nina Simone said – “We’re in the middle of a revolution & I see the face of things to come” -That face will be an African face telling & teaching the history of African culture from fashion, to film, to art & all points of global African business defined by & for the African personality & sold to the world as is -without any kind of need to water down or appease some new idea of a global market that we have contributed to & enriched for centuries without ever getting our fair share in recognition or financial gain. Let’s stop talking about how things take time when the time is NOW!

“I made it quite clear that from now on -today – we must change our attitudes, our minds, we must realise that from now on, we are no more a colonial but a free and independent people. But also, as I pointed out, that also entails hard work.That new African is ready to fight his own battles and show that after all, the black man is capable of managing his own affairs. We are going to demonstrate to the world, to the other nations, that we are prepared to lay our own foundation.Our own African identity. As I said in the assembly just minutes ago, I made a point that we are going to create our own African personality and identity. It’s the only way that we can show the world that we are ready for own own battles.I am depending upon the millions of the country, and the chiefs and people, to help me to reshape the destiny of this country.We are prepared to pick it up and make it a nation that will be respected by every nation in the world.We know we are going to have difficult beginnings, but again, I’m relying upon your support, I’m relying upon your hard work.Seeing you in this… it doesn’t matter how far my eye goes, I can see that you are here in your millions and my last warning to you is that you are to stand firm behind us so that we can prove to the world that when the African is given a chance he can show the world that he is somebody! We have awakened. We will not sleep anymore. Today, from now on, there is a new African in the world!” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah

When Will This Cease To Be The Picture ? When Will We Start Leading Ourselves Without Having to Be Part of An Entourage Flanking The Same Faces? When Will We See That We Are Just Repeating History Instead of Doing Anything New! When Will Our Global Fusion Include An Equal Gain? When Will We Be Paid For The Work We’ve Done?

“Something in the nature of an economic revolution is required. Our development has been held back for too long by the colonial-type economy. We need to reorganize entirely, so that each country can specialize in producing the goods and crops for which it is best suited.” Neocolonialism- The Last Stage of Imperialism. It is said, of course that we have no capital, no industrial skill, no communications, no internal markets, and that we cannot even agree among ourselves how best to utilize our resources for our own social needs. Yet all the stock exchanges in the world are pre-occupied with Africa’s gold, diamonds, uranium, platinum, copper and iron ores. Our CAPITAL flows out in streams to irrigate the whole system of Western economy. Fifty-two percent of the gold in Fort Knox at this moment, where the USA stores its bullion, is believed to have originated from OUR shores. Africa provides more than 60 per cent of the world’s gold. A great deal of the uranium for nuclear power, of copper for electronics, of titanium for supersonic projectiles, of iron and steel for heavy industries, of other minerals and raw materials for lighter industries – the basic economic might of the foreign Powers – comes from OUR continent…Experts have estimated that the Congo Basin alone can produce enough food crops to satisfy the requirements of nearly HALF the population of the whole world and here we sit talking about regionalism, talking about gradualism, talking about step by step. Are you afraid to tackle the bull by the horn?”  Address to the Conference of African Heads of State and Government, May 24, 1963″ DR. Kwame Nkrumah

If there is a time more than ever when our little girls need a supershero from Africa to her Diaspora..it surely is Now. Issues from colorism, racism, sexism & all of our many global isms, skisms  etc. & overcoming them has lead to what I call the movement of the global African daughters of  the great warrior, Yaa Asentewaa, who have come to realize their place in finding resloution to our many revolutions. From the ones who once existed in flesh to those who are our current living legends keeping the revolution of  the African woman going forward- like Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Miriam Makeba, Winne Mandela, Margaret Ekpo, Queen Nzinga, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf , Wangari Waathai & many more, to the new generation of writers, musicians, filmmakers, architects, economists, designers, activists leaders & all around cultural curators & creatives finding their creative freedom in honoring the past by building on it with a push forward to the future . A new movement of the people who understand that Mama Africa is our individual & collective responsibility because if Africa burns then we burn with it.  Our supershero, Wunmigirl is amongst the global Africans ushering in a cycle that understands that it has no end because culture should always be in a state of evolving as it revolves around its preservation of history & legacy from past to present, in preparation for the future-The  type of love language spoken by a global village of Wow Wow’s, preparing to take over the world, 1 Global African Nation at a time. Wunmigirl invites everyone to cross over to her side, while asking the listener to exercise his/her individual & collective right to define what is crossing over.

Wunmi Oliaya is the England born girl, who grew up in Nigeria, currently living in Brooklyn, New York- who by the sound of the drum crosses the Atlantic, worlds over & metamorphosing into Wunmigirl -a Global African Supershero saving global Africa from mental enslavement, self doubt, self hate, and injustice with truth & reconciliation raw & unfiltered powered by her gari!  Wunmigirl is the supershero “bobo slayer” at a time when African nations like Queen Nzinga’s Angola have finally decided to make domestic violence a national priority & Winnie Mandela’s South Africa has gone as far as creating female condoms with teeth to fight against the overwhelming rape statistics in the nation.  Wunmigirl bluntly speaks on this taboo topic at a time when global Africans understand that any violence against women & domestic violence  is a cycle that needs to stop by finding a sense of freedom in order to take the first step to change. Our “bobo slayer” & supershero, Wunmigirl opens the global dialogue with her music while other global Wow Wow’s like Carla Selby utilize their creativity in teaching domestic violence victims how to become survivors by giving them freedom to attain skills to pour their creativity into as they step toward freedom.

Freedom is often attained in sacrifice, consequences & rewards without guarantees other than our own level of faith & push to attain the change that we say want to be. This is what our supershero represents as she comes around to save the day by leading her Wow Wow’s to freedom land,where the language of love is the national language of her tribe. We need our global voices who bring our global connection back to its basics.  Our supershero, Wummigirl  with her nation of Wow Wow’s declare “Are you hearing Me Bobo, when I say I No Go, I No Go,Are You Hearing Me Bobo, when I say I No Do, I No Do ”!

From one side of the Atlantic to the other, the language of the soul of a house’s foundation is never lost in its people. From scavengers to aristocrats,  from paupers to kings, from the roots of mama Africa to the fruits of her global African children who protect her land as environmentalist, there has always been a local & global code of ethics & self governance that we never had to make a government or church matter, but rather just a human matter that directly effects forward movement as a people . Much like the sons of Lagos- Seun & Femi Kuti , Wunmigirl comes with the roots of Africa with fury that is determined to rise with a vision of an Africa for Africans. Our Supershero is here to showcase the future of her motherland-Future Africa…from Londontown to Lagos roots…our supershero be for Nija Inside!

Wunmigirl comes with her global tribe, a nation of Wow Wow’s- Global African fashionistas who adorn our supershero’s capsule fashion collections- paying homage to the African roots of our supershero while staying true to her futuristic evolution, which gives offerings of beauty in its natural progression from the root to the fruit! The nation of Wow Wow’s come in all shapes, shades & sizes also representing the natural progression which is uniquely & beautifully Africa-Cutting across the evolution & revolution of the Wow Wow sound & style of Wunmigirl – A journey of an African Supershero whose Wow Wow’s run the world as she keeps it rockin’ globally!

Supershero-Wunmigirl comes with her own language in her vocal drum…she commands global spirits, who invest their souls in a dance of joy cheering for her to win a battle contained in a global love language deeply rooted in the soul of house. Every Supershero must come with a soundtrack. Wunmigirl comes with a Global African soundtrack telling the story of an ALA to the future- contuning the natural progression from the root to the fruit in taking & continuing the rights of passage to superhershero staus! Wunmi, from ALA (African Living Abroad) to the Future of the Global African Supershero is the story we can not wait to to be told, seen, progress & embraced globally manifested in our global African image-representing the new sound of Global Africa – Tortured, Cultured, Seasoned , Styled & Ready for It’s Close Up to Shine!

Wunmigirl is a musician, a designer, an artist, a sister, a daughter, an aunty, a woman & a Grand Daughter of  Africa -a new era much needed & gladly welcomed Global African Supershero commanding & introducing a global love language that allows audiences to embrace an experience that makes them say  ”Wow Wow- that was incredible”!

Wunmigirl is the supershero that gives voice to the voiceless & let’s it be known that there is too much talk talk talk with no one listening!

Wunmigirl came calling for a kick start  for Future Africa & everyone started listening. The pledges came in & the people got behind the journey to the experience. We now join Wunmigirl in her journey from ALA to hearing the sound of our African Supershero after receiving her rights of recording passage in Ghana, West Africa. Refreshed, Rejuvenated, Reinvented& Reformed- the 4 R’s in the spirit of a true Supershero ready for the performance of her well earned right of passage! Wunmigirl is taking us on the journey as she tells our Global African stories in the truth of a new generation dubbed “Future Africa”! From the continent to her Diaspora, Future Africans are looking to Africa as the Future. While many with earned & self imposed titles as historians, intellectuals, experts, elders, leaders, Pan-Africanists & some entitled title seekers lose touch with the forward movements of Future Africa because they are too immersed in the beautiful struggle sound of their own voices, waxing poetic in verbal masturbation about the failures of what was, without much care & solution to what is & what will be! Wunmigirl lets the “Bottom-Line” know that it is full of shit…& that the little girl from London, to Nigeria, to New York, to Ghana & all points in between her ALA journey has attained & accepted her Global African Wunmigirl Wings! A roots honor never lost to be found, but rather awaiting her rightful time of preparation & passage! We are the Future ..This is Africa, Enter The New World…Wunmigirl-Africa’s new Supershero birthed from the queen of Afro-Fusion Wunmi Olaiya!

PHOTO CREDITS: Regine Gigi Romain , TKAFoundation, WUNMI.COM , Delphine Diallo

Many of us fashion folks have been caught up in the battle by Italians for their sovereignty & to have more of a say in the fashion week calender decision making. Get the popcorn out & let the Italain leather & lace fly because Italy is ready for a catwalk fight.

“After a summer of peace, hostilities have resumed between the rival cities of Paris, Milan, New York and London for supremacy in the fashion industry. The latest flashpoint is the catwalk calendar for next September. Milan fashion week has announced dates which clash with those of London. The organisers of London’s shows have been joined by those of New York’s in claiming that this directly contravenes an agreement in 2008, when this problem last flared. Mario Boselli, head of the Italian catwalks’ governing body, claims that the deal was only valid for three years…” READ MORE

“Mario Boselli head of the Camera Nazionale della Moda, however, seems unfazed by the decision. He told WWD, “Italian designers unanimously agreed on the schedule. They showed great solidarity and Italian pride.” And what about the fact that these cities will now all be competing against each other for industry attention? Says Boselli, “Let the best one win.” READ MORE

Let’s be honest, the fashion calendar has been decided by New York for awhile, with everyone else having to fall in line with changes to accommodate Jewish Holidays, Labor Day & other American holidays & needs. The global world of fashion can not be expected to be NY & Anna Wintour’s “Bitch” & it seems Italy has put itself on the line to declare just that. There needs to be changes all around & true genuine respect amongst all parties in their local & global contribution to creating a multibillion dollar industry collectively. Just like America should not be deciding the fate of sovereign nations of the world, the CFDA & Conde Nast editors can not determine the fate of global fashion designers without their full input & consent.

“Anna Wintour and the rest of the Vogue editors at Conde Nast are pissed about Italy’s decision to have Milan Fashion Week start during New York Fashion Week and continue through London Fashion Week. In fact the International chairman of Conde Nast fired off a letter to the Italian Chamber of Fashion that if they don’t change it back to the original schedule, none of his editors will be attending. “They will not under any circumstances abandon the London or New York shows if the Milan shows are moved earlier…The best way to avoid having a problem is to maintain the schedule as it is now.“

Mario Boselli, the head of the Italian Chamber of Fashion told WWD:

“We wouldn’t have reconsidered the show dates, but since the equilibrium has been ruptured, we are reflecting and rethinking the situation. Already we thought we were compromising and since New York has decided to set its schedule without consulting us, we are thinking in terms of what is best for us.” READ MORE

This fashion world war has been festering for years with ceasefires that have been declared null & void with aggressors on all sides pushing the boundaries of hems, fashion diva behavior & respect. Italy, one of the greatest producers of fashion with probably the largest number of globally recognizable luxury brands seems to be fighting to reclaim its revered place in the hierarchy of the fashion world’s elite by refusing to kowtow to the demands & desires of  the CFDA, Anna Wintour & Conde Nast. With brands like  Gucci, Prada, Fendi, Versace,  Dolce & Gabbana , Giorgio Armani, Roberto Cavalli, Missoni, Bulgari, Ferragamo  & others being part of the Italian collective, can Conde Nast & the rest of the fashion world really afford to boycott Milan’s fashion week shows in this misguided power move & still stay relevant?

“Italy, home of fashion powerhouses Gucci, Prada and Giorgio Armani, thinks it has been snubbed by one of the fashion world’s most powerful players: Anna Wintour.Designers in Milan face a chaotic crunch as they scramble to fit 88 runway shows into about 70 hours over six days to accommodate the Vogue editor-in-chief’s plans to stay just four days in Milan instead of a full week. Organizers have reshuffled the schedule three times in the past two months as word of Ms. Wintour’s expected travel plans spread through the historic fashion capital. Designers will do whatever it takes to get Ms. Wintour to attend their shows. Her endorsement of a collection not only can lead to a place in Vogue photo shoots, but also tilts the odds that clothing will be worn by celebrities and picked up by retailers. Often, shows don’t start until she slides into her front-row seat…” READ MORE

“The stiletto has put its foot down. In a move that’s angered fashion powerhouses on both sides of the Atlantic, Milan Fashion Week will overlap with fashion weeks in New York and London in September 2012.  New York Fashion Week is set to start on Sept. 13, with London beginning on Sept. 21. Milan’s start date? Smack in the middle—on the 19^th. As a result, department store buyers and fashion editors will have to choose between attending shows and buying appointments in each of the cities. Fashion editors from Condè Nast, including Vogue’s Anna Wintour, have said they will boycott Milan Fashion Week. The Italian reaction? A shrug: Mario Boselli, head of Italy’s Chamber of Fashion, told Heard on the Runway: “We are not changing our calendar,” he said. “If Vogue editors plan not to come, well, then that’s their loss. I think the Italian fashion shows are unmissible, both in absolute terms and also because of the advertising revenues that the industry generates.” Read More

With bloggers becoming the “soup du jour” in a dying world of print  & taking over many coveted front row spots at fashion week, can the usual fashion editors & insiders really claim to be the holy grail of making it or breaking it in fashion anymore? In this digital age- inclusion is more of the direction of the future than the usual fashion industry’s practice of exclusion on many levels. Frankly I missed the days of Full Frontal Fashion & Fashion TV, giving the option & freedom to watch all the fashion week shows in the comfort of my living room or wherever I choose to be in the world, instead of having to worry about if I was going to be  amongst the “in-crowd” bestowed with the most coveted fashion week show invites & having to run around in stiletto heels amongst fashion wannabes, elitist editors & socialites, paid celebrity front row guests & many regular folk/local celebrities who are living beyond their means in breaking their piggy banks to get the perfect designer outfits for weeks of their own individual fashion coming out celebrations on concrete runways. I was glad that Youtube filled that void this year, but we need more of that with real fashion commentary instead of just the fake air kisses, celebrity spotting & praises from fashion “stans” who often forget that fashion can be bought by many, but style is exclusively innate. Remember the days when being trendy was not considered chic? Surely Kanye West was not the only designer that showed this year who needed to be put on blast for their lackluster presentation, but I won’t name any names until I have my own show that pays me to do just that-AKA Global Fusion Productions Inc. Presents “Behind The Hype” LOL!

“There has been a complete change this year,” said Kelly Cutrone, who has been organizing fashion shows since 1987. “Do I think, as a publicist, that I now have to have my eye on some kid who’s writing a blog in Oklahoma as much as I do on an editor from Vogue? Absolutely. Because once they write something on the Internet, it’s never coming down. And it’s the first thing a designer is going to see.” Perhaps it was to be expected that the communications revolution would affect the makeup of the fashion news media in much the same way it has changed the broader news media landscape. At a time when magazines like Vogue, W, Glamour and Bazaar have pared their staffs and undergone deep cutbacks because of the impact of the recession on their advertising sales, blogs have made remarkable strides in gaining both readership and higher profiles…” READ MORE

Fashion, much like our global political system has turned into an era of school yard bullies & too big to fail elitists- all trying to flex their cowardly muscles on one another to show who has the biggest sausage in the battle for king of the world status. In the full spectrum of what the world is suffering through, I can’t say that I am not delighted  & amused by these elitist crybabies turning on themselves & eventually imploding to set a path for the global fashion industry to start anew in a more inclusive manner where fashion returns to its roots of creativity, innovation, craftmanship & freshness in building its future through young new designers globally- while preserving the history of fashion, rather than the celebrity idol worship of few who maintain & remain[BOXED-IN]. This maybe the best thing that ever happened to the perfectly imperfect world of fashion that can use a wake up call to the reality of the world & finally have a moment of self-reflection & evaluation as they  Check their [IN-BOX]!

CFDA President Diane von Furstenberg’s Open Letter To The Fashion Industry AKA Italy-LOL!

Sometimes in life what makes my day is to hear of other people’s accomplishments. Today is one of those days. As Ghanaians & people all over the world who respect freedom & the greatness of man to bring about a global mindset toward change & freedom celebrate Dr. Kwame Nkrumah’s 102nd birthday &  Founder’s Day In Ghana; I am delighted to hear that the young people of my Black Star Nation are Honoring the Past By Building The Future!

Ghana taking the lead from the Gaddafi led AU’s 13th Ordinary Summit in the Libyan town of Sirte, where African leaders adopted the centenary birthday celebration of Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah as a continental event by stating, “We unanimously agreed to celebrate Dr Nkrumah’s centenary birthday & put it on the AU’s calendar of Special Events“, went on to  finally  take action in 2009 to make Dr. Nkrumah’s birthday a national holiday, celebrating the man, his achievements & his strong vision for a united & independent Africa. Dr Nkrumah became one  of Africa’s most prolific leaders who is celeberated all over the world from a memorial in New Delhi, India to a commemorative stamp in Russia & a New York State Senate resolution celebrating his contribution as 1 of the founders of Pan-Africanism. As diginitaries from around the world visit & send well wishes to Ghana in honor of Dr. Nkrumah’s 102nd birthday today, I can’t help but to acknowledge the elephant  not in the room,Muammar al-Gaddafi- the modern day African leader who thru Dr. Nkrumah’s influence spoke publicly in a push to carry out the vision of a United States of Africa. Today, Gaddafi has basically been deposed in the same style of people’s revolution cloaked in a western backed coup d’état that met Dr. Nkrumah. We are now left once again to look toward the future, hoping a new leader will emerge to carry the torch of a United States of Africa.

“It is time to give life to the dream of a united Africa. If we could even make the regional and economic committees at the sub regional levels work, we will see a much faster progress than we are seeing today. Let Africa not deceive herself, nobody is going to move out of the front of the world queue and create space for us to take a place… We have to work together to move up the front of that queue…it was time the continent rewarded Nkrumah’s commitment to see among other things, a united Africa liberated from poverty, noting that African leaders must back their words with action to ensure the realization of Nkrumah’s dreams for Africa.” READ MORE

While politics in Africa continues to disappoint most Africans, the future is bright among the young people who refuse to have the actions  & lack of progress in African politics defer the dreams of the Africa they want to see & build. One of these young people is Ghana’s own Mantse Aryeequaye. I remember meeting & interviewing Mantse for my labor of love documentary entitled Black Star Rising. I met Mantse in Osu, Ghana in 2008 as a young writer, visionary & man about town who spoke about creating pirate radio in Ghana, growing up as a hip-hop head in Ghana & being a part of the MOP (movement of people) in Ghana who were showcasing the vibrancy of the talents & Arts in Ghana…Now fast Forward to July 16, 2011 & the dream of what the future of Ghanaian arts celebration will hold, has not only been mobilized but realized & celebrated as a movement & festival started in a small historic fishing town that will sooner than later find its global fusion in local & worldwide recognition like the plethora of established & emerging global street arts festivals that have sprouted up in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Berlin, London, Paris etc.

The name of the festival- Chale Wote geniusly exemplifies the spirit & style of Ghanaians in every way, bringing us back by taking us forward to our essence in nostalgic future! Chale Wote is the Ga word for flip-flops that all Ghanaians rock & it also translates to man/homie let’s go! The Chale Wote festival juxtaposed the best of Ghanaian fashion, music, art, culture and the new generation of sports in Ghana that is more BMX bike extreme sports than football. The beautifully raw rugged streets of  the small fishing town of (Jamestown) James Town in the capital city of Accra holds so much of Ghana’s history of greatness for producing some of the greatest boxers like the legendary Azumah Nelson-the first African Boxer to be inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame & rising stars like Joshua Clottey, along with Ghana’s Greatest Photographer James Barnor & his Ever Young photography studio. James Town is also home to Ghana’s oldest prison, James Fort,  which held Dr. Kwame Nkrumah & many of Ghana’s freedom fighters as the nation woke up, fought & regained its power against their former colonizers to elect Dr. Nkrumah as our very first president while still being held in prison.

Jamestown is located right on the Atlantic Ocean & is a lively  colorfully boisterous town with many open spaces & beautiful architecture juxtaposed with the dense poverty of economics but not of spirit ,which served to be the perfect location for the Chale Wote  Street Arts Festival!  Big Ups to Mantse & all those who dare to dream, dare to take the chance in lighting a spark that may set the fire of greatness, all those who have no fear of failure because they are too consumed with the desire of creating success, and those collectively brought together their passion to make this beautiful expression of Ghana come to fruition. There maybe some who may call you failures because they are void of the unwavering love in black star souls & are hollow without ability to soak up the idea & manifestation of potential in dreams & actions. I can’t wait to hopefully be there to bare witness to the experience in the flesh & to hopefully be able to contribute on the next go around in April 2012! CHALE WOTE!!!

“The premiere edition of the CHALE WOTE Street Art Festival, held on July 16th, was a success because many people believed in a simple idea. Teamwork and artistic talent make a powerful combination. With only three months to plan and a limited budget, more than a dozen young creative professionals rolled up their sleeves and got to work on the largest free street festival to ever hit Accra. The result: a 12-hour fantastic street maze of live action art stretching from the Mantse Agbonaa to the old Kings Way building—graffiti + street painting, bike/skateboard/rollerblade street stuntin’ parties, art installations, experimental theater, a fashion circus, drumfunkbass music, spoken word, and a live music concert—never before seen on this scale in James Town. The idea began at a Talk Party in Osu back in March. The monthly discussion series is hosted by ACCRA [dot] ALT. “We were tired of talking about change. It was time to take action and generate a viable economy for art in this city. CHALE WOTE is well on its way to making Accra a cultural hotbed and international destination,” says filmmaker and ACCRA [dot] ALT producer, Mantse Aryeequaye….” READ MORE

Photo Credit: Nana Kofi Acquah

Follow The Organizers: Accra[dot]Alt

Photo Credit: KwesiBlack.com

For other photo credits go to : Face2FaceAfrica.com

Shea butter has been greasing up African babies to beautiful coats of golden blackness for centuries, but like many of Africa’s natural resources, we fail to see its worth until it is coveted & overtaken by others. Where Westerners may applaud & hail women cosmetics giants like Estee Lauder, Mary Kay & Elizabeth Arden, in Africa our powerhouses in the beauty industry start from the root of our Shea butter producing women. From  the beauty regiments of the bohemian sect to haute couture women, the  natural beauty of what has been dubbed “Women’s Gold” has been worth more than its weight in gold by esthetically beautifying women throughout the world, while economically empowering women in Western Africa.

Most cosmetic products these days have shea butter in it- from the basic over the counter corner store products to your high priced high society exclusive products. Shea butter has been proven to have significant health benefits & African nations like the Black Star Nation of Ghana in particular has been known to be of the highest grade & quality, particulary coming from the Northern region of Ghana , which is one of the poorest economic regions of Ghana. I emphasize economic because  the northern region is lush in beauty, intelligence & resources & many who come from this area of Ghana are amongst the most wealthy & educated. Ghana as a matriarchal country has always had her women as her backbone & in the North the women are bringing much needed economic viability to the region through not only harvesting & selling the shea nuts to produce shea butter, but finding their business sense & acumen in attaining a bigger share of the profit as producers & manufacturers of the end product of shea butter  & directly selling it in the market at retail.

Unfortunately there are few & far between cosmetics companies owned by African women, particularly on the continent. Giants like supermodel & cosmetics mogul Iman, top fashion make-up artist turned cosmetics mogul Pat McGrath along with homegrown beauty mogul Carol’s Daughter have set the blueprint  & model of what the future of the African beauty industry can be in the hands of its women. Africans must come to realize that we can become the next Revlon, Estee Lauder, Elizabeth Arden, Carol’s Daughter etc.  just from our ancient blessings of natural beauty secrets such as Shea butter & that we do not have to wait for the rest of the world to show & tell us how to celebrate & find value in our global African flyness.

New Africa is open for business with  fashion, film & music industries in Africa developing a new unprecedented awakening in the Made in Africa brand & the beauty industry hopefully following suit in its new awakening with natives & expats leading the march in a new economically viable & self-sufficient Africa. Africans have always been natural born trendsetters in fashion & beauty from being the inventors of haute couture- where everyone from rich to poor gets their daily fashions custom made one off designs perfectly fitted by the hands of  local couturiers,  & where beauty specialists have been created from the blessings of mother nature’s bountiful harvests of natural beauty products from roots to fruits. Just as mining raw gold & diamonds does not garner as much profit for most Africans because we have not gotten into the business of refining & retail, we must learn from our past & what we have been dealt to understand that our economic power is in our own hands!

“Processing of shea nuts often takes place within local cooperatives where between 100 to 800 women work every season. Cooperatives are mainly operated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) or are small local businesses. The women employed via the cooperative either sell the nuts they collected from the communal lands where the Karite Tree grows or they process them into unrefined shea butter. It takes three kilos of shea nuts to create one kilo of shea butter (1kg equals 2.2 pounds).  Shea processing takes two routes. The raw nuts are sold to Asian oil companies in bulk who extract, refine and sell the oil to Europe for cosmetic purposes. Whereas unrefined shea butter is locally processed, certified organic, graded for purity then pushed onto the world market by upper level distributors. In both scenarios a hefty markup is added with none of the profits trickle down. “Poverty pimps, that’s all many NGOs really are,” stated Dr. Samuel Hunter of the American Shea Butter Institute. “They claim that they are in the villages to help the people when in actuality their application of fair trade versus a living wage is often the biggest enabler of poverty for the women throughout this region.” READ MORE

As much as most people love to hate on BET or we, Black folks worldwide seem to have a love/hate realtionship with ourselves & those who we pay & are sanctioned to represent us in the world ; I never see anyone coming with real solutions & being the change they want to see, so with that said kudos to BET for bringing the music back & showing us a way forward as we honor & commence Black Music Month!

The performances of so many were thrilling & showed a much needed return of our Soul Singers! A few standouts were Jill Scott -back , bold, grown & as beautiful as ever! Ledisi , Ledisi, Ledisi -Wow is all I can say -this true soul singer gets it right every time & she made our wonderful Vanilla Child-Teena Marie- proud from heaven.  Mary J.Blige lacing us with her classic ‘ol skool’ jams & standing toe to toe with the great & beautiful Anita Baker in humility, pride & power, while showing us why she will always be Queen of Hip-Hop Soul was simply Wikked!

The Pattie Labelle tribute was by far the best highlight of the night showcasing the beauty & longevity of our elders in this beautiful God given gift of music that serves one’s soul! Grand Dame of gospel, Shirley Caesar, the incomparable Gladys Knight & ofcourse Miss Pattie herself looked beautiful, dressed for the occasion & once again led by example to show the youngins that class, hard work, perseverance, pride in your appearance, nurturing your talents and being a true artist can bring you the type of longevity in a survival of the fittest type of industry with one too many fly by night entertainers who work on their celebrity more than their craft. Kelly Rowland can shout from the mountain top that she is “Winning” this time around & as the song says “You can’t stop me…Baby I’mma be your motivation“! Kelly has come into her own with the confidence of a woman who is fit & ready for this year to be her year- take no prisoners style- Kudos Kelly -we support you- get it girl!  Sorry King Bey , you  still remain the beloved but we’ve seen all you have to give in your queendom & kingdom of sequince, gold, body suits, grand stage performances & the usual dance steps, but Kelly is giving us something fresh & new that we have not seen from her already & the streets are not only talking but loving it! It’s time for Ebony Princesses to unanbashingly  shine with class, beauty & graciousness in mainstream global media, while adoring their femininity- fit, proud & powerful because the blonding of Black is getting to be a one sided story too often told, which novelist Chimamanda Adichie explains as The Danger of a Single Story!  If we as a culture say we support & love the multifaceted  story of ourselves then it must be reflective in our actions toward change. Love is a Verb!  (Excuse having to sit thru the singing chippendale Trey Songz to get to Kelly-LOL!)

Marsha Ambrosius, Miss “Late Nights & Early Morning’s” powerfully intoxicating Al Green take em’ to church & the bedroom at the same time & have em’ screaming for “Jesus” -performance of Patti Labelle’s “If Only  You Knew“- had me thinking if the world only knew how great & rare singers like Marsha are. The grand Diva of them all Mr. Cee-Lo Green keeps having the best year ever as he comes for the crowns of Liberace & Elton John all at the same time, while showing us just how much soul he has pent up in that round figure of his as he counts & rounds out zeros in dollar bills & Euros too! There is no voice in gospel that can take the crown of  Miss “No Charge“- Queen Shirley Ceaser -she’s been in the game for a long time & she is not giving up the mic anytime soon. At the age of 73, like a bottle of wine she gets better with age just like everyone’s favorite soul diva -Pattie Labelle, 5 decades  in the business later, at the age of 67  she can still out sing, out dress, out class & outlast most if not all the soul singers of today who are half her age. If you are a true lover of music you will always love & need & want Pattie Labelle. We HEART you Miss Pattie!

BET always brings it hard with the gospel because if there is one thing that Black folks know is church & the music of the church, but this time around  the  gospel performance was lackluster & I was not jumping out of my chair exalting “Amen” for being taken to church in my living room as I have with past performances. As far as the fashion- BET really needs to implement a dress code for those grown folks who just refuse to have some pride & class in their apperance & who just can not seem to comprehend that there is a time & place for everything . Well there’s never a time & place for grown men to be showing their underpants to the world, but we can only fight ignorance & ill teachings 1 day at a time- like the global financial crisis it took a long time to get us to this point of self destruction & self loathing -so it may take us twice as long to get back on the right track. It was painful to watch the insanity of grown women who have no friends to tell them that when you are of a certain age & you gain weight in so many places without physical fitness being part of your everyday routine- you can not wear certain things because you only come off looking like somebody’s auntie who refuses to accept her age & weight & who desperately needs to be Free from the uncomfortable packed in snausages look in trying to stuff all that junk in a trunk that is already overloaded. Nia Long looked beautifully radiant &  with a pregnant belly & all was able to outshine, outclass & out dress most of the women in attendance. If that is what pregnancy  looks like , I will do it 100 times over! As for the not so gentle just because you pack a stick between your legs does not a man make -gentlemen, who couldn’t have enough class & self respect to dress appropriately for the occasion -All I can say is just have a look at Idris Elba, his career & how well respected he is in the industry globally- it takes more than talent to earn respect & longevity in career & life.  The way too tight, overly exposed, overly shiny disco ball , blinged out, pants on the ground, everyone rocking the same ridiculous shade of Beyonce blonde that only really works for Beyonce -if that-  is getting old & needs to stop immediately! We need to take some pride back into our culture, our appearance & our lives by bringing back some class & charm!

As for it being Chris Brown’s night-it was well deserved-we forgive so many for so much worse & if we are all God fearing people & so called Christians -then let the young man live & have the chance to make peace with his maker on judgement day! As far as that flub with the viewer’s choice award -I really can’t help but be cynical that BET producers may have done this so called “human error” intentionally with a poor fan left to take the heat just to guarantee press & tongues wagging about the award show  the next day. I hope it is not a fact, but in this media thirsty society that we live in, I don’t put anything past anyone doing the unthinkable or even the unforgivable in selling their soul to the devil just to be a trending topic on twitter. Chris Brown’s talents are incomparable & we do need him in the game because as far as talent & performance symbiotically blending together in greatness of what makes future legends , no one can touch him & he proves it every time. Usher has already lost the crown & can’t seem to find his place in his grown man-ness that grown women of his age want to see, as he belts out passionate grown man music like his Prince like  ”do it to me“. If Justin Beiber is his air apparent then we definitely need Chris Brown in the game!

As far as recognizing that Black Music, Black Entertainment & Black People are global , BET continues to get a failing grade each & every time. No one would even know that there is a BET International with access to the world of Black music & entertainment outside of the 50 United States of America. It is really a shame as the world gets more global, Black people in America always seem to be the last to embrace global blackness, just as Elle Magazine was first to put Alek Wek on a cover while Essence turned her down until after most of their mainstream  competitors showed them that yes- this beautiful Black African is relevant in mainstream America & worldwide , while Ebony Magazine finally found a reason to put her on the cover to tell us all that Black is Back ,as we all wondered when it ever left. I guess when mainstream award shows & radio start awarding & playing more music & films from the African continent & her Diaspora outside of the US, maybe then BET & others who are supposed to represent Blackness will see the relevance! Until then global Africa will keep forging forward with or without you & kudos to bringing back the soul of Black music in America & showing that this year the soul singers are taking back the Mic in truly honoring Black Music Month!

For My Global Fusionists, here are the Nominees & Winners for the International acts that were not worthy of live BET broadcast even if it meant canceling some of the tomfoolery to show BET’s movement toward a more global perspective. We could have done without the usual Trey Songz  multiple shirtless performances & Rick Ross -damn how many times did we really need to hear him perform. The Super Eagle Nation of Nigeria took the award home for best international act-  going to both Mr. “Fall In love”  & newly minted member of Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music family, D’Banj &  Mr. I took the African Queen global- 2Face Idbia, who both came in dressed to impress as African Kings with global grown man swag!

BET Best International Act(Africa) Winner. If these are the lyrics & sentiments of Future Global Africa then Africa is Winning! Africa is the Future -Don’t Let anyone tell u differently! If ♥ 4 Nation, Family,Craft, Self, Mama Africa & ♥ is a crime Den I Want 2 B Wanted, If ♥ Is A Crime I’m Willing 2 B Hunted,Everytime Dat I Look Into Ur Eyes I See Fire In There, & If U Look Into My Eyes U See Desire In There,Keep D Fire Burning! To Whom Much Is Given ..Much Is Expected… Dedicated to the  Global Daughters of  Yaa Asantewaa…You Are Worthy! There Are Many Ways To The Dream… MUSIC IS A WEAPON!

There’s Been A Lot Of Toasting, Lot Of Guys Hve Been Up To Her But She Told Them She Was Waiting, For The One That God Sent To Fulfill Her Kind Of Craving, A Special Kind Of Loving, One With Luv Dat Undastanding, Come Rain Come Shining, Ppl Started 2 Say Dat She Wanted More Dan Mr. Rite, All Dat She Want Is A Man Dat Sees D Lite, Dey Say She’s A Fool 4 Being Uptight, All Dat She Want Is Good Luv No Be Fight, Special Kind Of Girl Hard 2 Come By, Dis Kind Of Girl Na Him I Want 2 Make My Wife, U R D One, Say No More, Don’t Bother About What D Ppl Say, Cos I Say

[Chorus:]
Everytime Dat I Look Into Ur Eyes I See Fire In There(Fire), And If U Look Into My Eyes U See Desire In There(Desire), Gal If Luv Is Crime Den I Want 2 B Wanted, If Luv Is A Crime I’m Willing 2 B Hunted, Got A Lot Of Respect 4 U Cos Ur Kind Is So Rare(So Rare), It’s Kind Of Hard 2 Imagine But I Know (U R Out There)2ce, If Luv Is A Crime Then I Wnt 2 B Wanted, If Luv Is A Crime I Wnt 2 B Hunted.

[Verse 2:]
She Said 2 Me Do U Wanna B D Last Man Standing, She Said 2 Me Do U Wanna B D One Dem Complimenting, Oh Yeah, Gal I Wanna B Ur Beginning & Ur Ending, Oh, I Wanna B D Only 1 Dat U B Sending, I Can’t Believe She’s Still A Virgin, Lots Of Guys Hve Been Up 2 Her But There Was No Compromising, She’d Been Strong, She’d Been Keeping Herself Until D Day Of Her Wedding, Under D Right Ceiling, With D Right Person, A Person Deserving Of Her Special Kind Of Loving…

[Chorus]

[Bridge:]
Keep D Fire Burning, Burning, Burning, Keep D Fire Burning Keep It Burning, If Love Is A Crime, If Love Is A Crime.See, Everytime Dat I Look Into Ur Eyes I See Fire In There, And If U Look Into My Eyes U See Desire In There, Girl If Love Is A Crime, If Love Is A Crime [Till Fade]

[ These are If Love Is A Crime Lyrics on http://www.lyricsman