It seems hip-hop stars are recognizing the Black Star Shine of Ghana & broadening their perspectve in audience, how to make money in a struggling music industry & how to stay relevant in a hip-hop world that has gone global & is not turning back. Both Talib Kweli & Roc Nation’s own Memphis Bleek will touch down on the hot burning sun of Accra city to celebrate the 54th year of Independence with a nation of Black Stars Rising. Africa is open for Business & slowly but surely Black America, African nationals living abroad & the hip-hop nation are recognizing the relevance & money earning & making power of Africa.

“Talib Kweli  in the Asabaako Music Festival, 3-day party on the spectacular Busua Beach in the Western region. The New York rapper will join Wanlov the Kubolor, Yaa Pono and many more Ghanaian artists for festival, sponsored by Vodafone.“ READ MORE

“Rapper Memphis Bleek of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation will be in Ghana tomorrow to participate in Ghana’s Ghana at 54 Independence Weekend Bash. Bleek will perform this Saturday on March 5th, 2011 at Ghana’s Citizen Kofi. Anticipated hit songs he will perform include: Is that Your chick ft. Jay Z and Missy Elliot, Round Here ft. T.I and Like that ft. Swizz Beatz.” READ MORE

From films to music, African-Americans are returning to their African roots for new opportunities & collaborations. Ghanaian filmmakers & music producers like Sam Kessie & Eric “Coptic” Matlock are holding up the Black Star flag heavy in America & taking African-Americans back to their roots with their upcoming projects & collaborations. The entire world is taking heed to the fact that the UN has declared 2011:International Year for  Descendants of Africans by investing in Africa on many levels. African-Americans seem to be slower on the push to cover & invest in Africa, but it is only a matter of education which our media outlets need to do a much better job in facilitating. After nearly two years of trying to convince The Source Magazine to do a story about the rise of hip-hop in Ghana known as Hip-Life , they finally did a brief piece on their website  last week. You can’t claim to be the bible of Hip-Hop music, culture & politics when your view is limited to America & a few other international places every now & then, when the true movement of hip-hop has been global for close to a decade now.

I will never forget how a major international network like CNN did a tremendous amount of play by play coverage showcasing the people, the nation, the cuisine, the history & foundation of Ghana when the first Black president of the United States chose as his first diplomatic mission in Africa as President, to visit Ghana, the historically credited first African nation south of the Sahara to gain Independence & the greatest hub of  the slave trade & African-American roots history; while BET barely gave much coverage. We must emancipate ourselves from the fear & mental slavery that keeps African-Americans away from Africa because non but ourselves can free our minds.

If you step on the streets of Accra you will see murals of Biggie, 2pac, Jay Z etc., but ask any African-American hip-hop lover if they know about Reggie Rockstone, who is affectionately known as the granpapa -founder of Ghana’s modern day hip-hop movement known as hip-life; yet he has made songs with artists like Snoop Dogg, Wyclef Jean, Beenie Man & many more that are known worldwide. Many more have never heard of Geydu Blay Ambolley ,who popularized hip-hop style of music in Ghana in the 70’s before it was recognized & named hip-hop in America. He is currently challenging the Guinness book of world records to recognize his contribution to hip-hop & to get the facts right accordingly. This is the year of African descendants & we must collectively work together from Africa to the Diaspora to show our global greatness & forward movement by utilizing the wind of change in Africa that brought about the Pan-African blueprint set by great leaders like W.E.B Dubois, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Marcus Garvey, Patrice Lumumba, Sekou Toure, Jomo Kenyatta, Macolm X & so many other historical greats.

“Africa’s future is up to Africans,” U.S. President Barack Obama said when he addressed Ghana’s parliament in July 2009. “The people of Africa are ready to claim that future. And in my country, African Americans — including so many recent immigrants — have thrived in every sector of society. We’ve done so despite a difficult past, and we’ve drawn strength from our African heritage.” As Obama spoke, I couldn’t help thinking how fitting it was for the first black president of America to have chosen Ghana as the destination of his first official visit to Africa. It was a wonderful tribute to a long-standing and important relationship that has defined our mutual destinies…” READ MORE

BREAKING NEWS: THIS JUST IN:
“The Asabaako Music Festival will go on as initially planned without an appearance by US hiphop star, Talib Kweli following difficulties in bringing the rapper to Ghana, as recently advertised. For many fans of the rapper, they first heard the sad news when Talib Kweli tweeted that he was disappointed to announce that he wouldn’t be able to perform in Ghana...” READ MORE

Why can’t African leaders allow the future generation at the very least to have what they inherited at the time of Independence? Why do we allow tribalism, religion & partisan politricks to constantly stagnate our growth as nations & as Africans?  Why would anyone choose chaos & stagnation & sometimes complete destruction instead of compromise for the betterment & forward movement of Africans? This foolishness of punch drunk power that has been plaguing our so called leaders needs to stop. They continue to put a stranglehold on Africa’s forward movement decade after decade. When will enough be enough?  We have forgotten the one thing that  makes us culturally unique as Africans, the fact that we are taught community, being our brother & sister’s keeper, trust, compromise & sharing from birth to death in the mere fact that we have traditionally always sat together to eat from one bowl. This cultural uniqueness should guide our lives & politics in the basic fact that we innately perform a beautifully choregraphed dance with our hands where we allow everyone to get to the center to get a peice of nourishment without cheating one another & battling with our hands for the center spot because we compromise, share & understand that we must make way to make sure that there is enough for everyone to get a peice of the pie. This is not something taught but innate as a westerner using his knife & fork. We have forgotten that our traditions are more than pomp & circumstance, but rather a blueprint for how we are to live our lives uniquely & innately as Africans.

Our selfish fools for leaders who thrive on dissension & distraction of tribalism & religion before one’s human & national obligation need to be taken out by force & made examples of for others to know that this nonsense will no longer be tolerated in Africa. We must also not continue our own compliance by fanning the fans of support for that which we know is morally, religiously & culturally wrong as a people, as a nation & as a a continent. It is time for a new Africa in a new decade. An Africa with a zero-tolerance policy for corruption, dictatorship & unabashed entitlement of government officials who do not care about the needs & the will of the people who they are there to serve. Only Africans can do this for Africa. Unfortunately most of the leaders in the AU imposing leadership to settle these battles have no credibility because of their own actions, inactions & future potential of inheriting & exhibiting the same fate. Africans seem to forget that the only way we have been able to survive through years of slavery & colonialism is that when push comes to shove for our survival we work together & practice the fact that it takes a village to raise not only a child but a nation. As The O’Jays said you’ve got to give the people what they want. Ivorians & Africans of every nation must ask themselves what do they REALLY WANT for their nations, continent & the future of those who will inherit their deeds & wishes!

“Freedom is not something that one people can bestow on another as a gift. Thy claim it as their own and none can keep it from them. We face neither East nor West: We Face Forward..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...” Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Africa’s Freedom Fighter

“Your experience is rather impressive…But due to the human relationships between the French and the Africans, and because in the 20th century, people have become interdependent, we considered that it would perhaps be more interesting to try a new and different experience than yours and unique in itself, one of a Franco-African community based on equality and fraternity. Unlike many African leaders who immediately demanded independence, Houphouët-Boigny wished for a careful transition within the “ensemble français” because, according to him, political independence without economic independence was worthless. He also invited Nkrumah to meet up with him in 10 years to see which one of the two had chosen the best approach toward independence…” President Houphouët-Boigny -1st President of Ivory Coast…READ MORE

Does Western style democracy in Africa really work or is it time to determine our own  specifically African form of self governance? We continue to speak of the marginalization & disenfranchisement of Africa at the hands of colonialism while we use the same tactics & teachings to marginalize & disenfranchise ourselves. How can we expect the rest of the world & our former colonizers to ever respect us & to take our leadership seriously when we continuously give them fodder to claim us as incompetent children who always need their  masters to step in to take care of their problems & to have us learn to play nice with one another. Do we not see the idiocy of our ways , the idiocy that we continue to showcase the world? What type of parent does not allow a child to flourish & grow to the maximum of his/her potential? That type of parent are the African leaders that we continue to have to battle as they refuse to give up power even when their children have spoken & have kindly asked to respect their desire to be FREE!  It must solely be decided by Ivorians & not outsiders as to who will rule their nation! Where are our forward thinkers with Vision..God Help & Bless Africa!

“The practice and promotion of peace is a powerful tool of diplomacy that has all-too-often been misunderstood, especially in Africa. This became clear to me recently when Ghana claimed a position of peace and nonviolence in regards to the recent developments in its neighboring country, Cote d’Ivoire...”READ MORE

Many Sides 2 1 Crisis

“UN peacekeeping chief Alain Le Roy said state TV channel RTI was pumping out lies, and blamed it for a machete attack on UN personnel on Tuesday. Mr Gbagbo has so far resisted UN calls to step down as president and make way for his rival Alassane Ouattara…”read more

“An unprecedented disinformation campaign is being orchestrated to justify foreign intervention in the Ivory Coast to unseat the Preseident Laurent Gbagbo and replace him with Alassane Dramane Ouattara, a stooge totally devoted to the interests of multinationals. Alassane Ouattara is the former Deputy CEO of the IMF, and former Prime Minister of Houphouet-Boigny who in 1990 administered an IMF plan which plunged the Ivorian people into a profound social and economic distress. He is the puppet” nominated” by the major powers to lead the Ivory Coast and to ensure that their interests are not threatened by the presence of uncompromising and patriotic men such as Laurent Gbagbo, a long time opponent of Houphouet (1970-1990’s.). French and American imperialist powers have agreed to remove Gbagbo who is guilty of pursuing a national policy prejudicial to their profits.Everything is said and Gbagbo must leave “before the end of the week” threatens Sarkozy. The war perpetrator in chief who cannot forgive Gbagbo for opening the oil markets to American companies in 2002. It was a crime to have opened the preserve of French capitalists to others!” Read More

“Liberia and Ghana are preparing for an influx of refugees fleeing political unrest in neighboring Ivory Coast, officials from the governments of the West African nations said…” READ MORE

“It becomes very dangerous and troubling when media in Cameroon and most of Africa, get their news on elections in Cote D ‘Ivoire only from CNN, France 24, rfi or sister media, most of who do analysis somtimes without knowing exactly what happened, or limiting their analysis to immediate actions without knowing what provoked the actions or again out rightly analysing without taking into consideration what the law of that country says with respect to what they are analysing. As far as the November presidential elections in Cote D Ivoire are concerned, you may want to read this article culled from this newspaper http://www.notrevoie.com/Home.asp. Or http://www.notrevoie.com/a_la_une.asp?id=37453 or read the whole edition of Notre Voie No 3747 of December 03, 2010….” READ MORE

“Given all the precedents one had expected a certain finesse or perhaps panache in the electoral strategy. As a Wikileaked cable from the US embassy in Abidjan put it in July 2009, “There will not be an election unless President Gbagbo is confident that he will win it — and he is not yet confident of the outcome.” READ MORE

“The stand-off between the two men and their supporters has brought tension and violence to the country, with many fearing a return to civil war. More than 170 people have died already in post-election unrest. In the latest attempt to avoid more bloodshed, three African leaders from ECOWAS have been meeting with Gbagbo to persuade him to step down. Is democracy failing in Africa? What does this mean for the people of Cote d’Ivoire? And who can end the country’s political crisis?” READ MORE

“Three African heads of state are scheduled to arrive in Ivory Coast on Tuesday to persuade incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo to step down or face possible ouster, part of a trend across the continent in which African leaders have taken active roles to resolve political crises in their region. The latest intervention is a reversal of sorts from past decades, when African leaders tended to band together behind those in power regardless of their political legitimacy.Tuesday’s delegation of presidents—Yayi Boni of Benin, Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone and Pedro Pires of Cape Verde—is seen as a last-ditch effort by regional bodies to negotiate a peaceful conclusion to a monthlong political standoff in which both Mr. Gbagbo and opposition candidate Alassane Ouattara have claimed victory in a Nov. 28 election….”READ MORE

“Mr. Alabi explained that president Kufour would have made tremendous progress in solving the crisis because “he would have used all the diplomatic skills, and he does have them in abundance, to resolve this issue and he would have been more acceptable to Gbagbo and to Allasane Ouattara than Thabo Mbeki who had already fumbled in such an endeavour.” READ MORE

“Well, it’s about time for things to get better…We want the truth, the truth and no more lies…We want freedom, justice and equality..I want it for you and I want it for me..You, you, don’t you?..Got to give the people..Give the people what they want..”

Dear Côte d’Ivoire/AFRICANS-WAKE UP!!! 2011- NEW AFRICA BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!

U keep pushing the blame on our colonial fathers
U say they came and they took all we had pocessed
They have to take the abuse that they have caused our present state with their intruding history
Use our goodness and nourishment in the Name of missionary
Lied to us,blinded slaved us,misplaced us,strengthen us,hardened us then
they replaced us now we got to learn from pain
Now it is up to us to gain some recognition
If we stopp blaming we could get a better condition
Wake up world!!
Wake up and stop sleeping
Wake up africa!!
Wake up and stop blaming
Open ur eyes!!
Stand up and rise
Road block oh life penalty

Why do we want to remain where we started
And how long do we want to stop ourselves from thinking
We should learn from experience that what we are here for this existence
But now we decide to use the same hatred to oppress our own brothers
It is so comfortable to say racism is the cause
but this time it is the same colour chasing and biting us
Knowledge and selfishness that they gave to us,this is what we use to abuse us
Wake up world!!
Wake up and stop sleeping
Wake up africa!!
Wake up and stop blaming
Open ur eyes!!
Stand up and rise
Road block oh life penalty

Those who have ears let them hear
Brothers who are not brainwashed takt ruins and rest
Pick them up and stick them back together
This is the only way we can change this african weather
Lied to us,blinded slaved us,misplaced us,strengthen us,hardened us then
they replaced us now we got to learn from pain

Wake up world!!
Wake up and stop sleeping
Wake up africa!!
Wake up and stop blaming
Open ur eyes!!
Stand up and rise
Road block oh life penalty

you got to wake up please
youuuuu got tooo
(wake up africa wake up and stop blaming)
blaming ha ha ha
open yours eyes your eyes
stand up and riise
road block oh life penalty
wake up…
Source

elections.peacefmonline.com/politics/200910/29059.php#

The fact that Ghanaians would criticize Vice President John Dramani Mahama for being true to his roots & culture rather than wearing Western clothes just shows the ignorance & slave mentality that some still have. I love the fact that VP Mahama is unabashed about being African, being from the North of Ghana , being Muslim, being an intellectual &  at the end of the day being first & foremost a Ghanaian.To many in the world his dressing evokes a tradition of African kings & royalty in the richness of African fabrics & colors. We can never move forward if we can’t celebrate & respect our own culture & traditions rather than thinking that “White is right” or the Western way is the best way. To each his own in how they choose to dress, express themselves & be comfortable in their own skin, but I have a great respect for the African leaders & their wives who choose traditional dress over western wear. The fashion industry is a huge multi billion dollar industry in many western countries & can be the same in Africa if we chose to patronize our own culture & tradition. A western celebrity, president, VP or first lady to wear a local designer is seen as being able to launch an unknown designer’s career overnight because of the exposure. Look at what Michelle Obama & many celebrities have done for the businesses of American/western designers.

Before we were introduced to suits & ties we had our own culture of dress which we should patronize & globalize to help boost our own economy, just as westerners patronize & globalize their own way of dress. I love & support  VP Mahama very intellectually thoughtful & forward thinking  ideology which not only comes with his choice of fashion but with his Nkrumah inspired African personality & writings. Think Globally, Shop Locally!