Africans Connect - Greater Seattle

I'm going to take a turn around Greenlake.
Really to help temper the inactivity of sitting my bum for hours at the Sci-Fi Film festival, later in the same day.
You are most welcome to join me for a stroll and chat.

Seattle, WA 98103 - USA

Saturday, January 30 at 1:45 PM

Attending: 2

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Africans-Connect-Greater-Seattle/calendar/12428961/

Nottingham Tribal Drum Group

Ok so this is for All you Rhythm ungry Nutts IN Notts!

"Tansole"

As taught by that Master of Djembe at ABC 2009,

Hans Sutton

I Will be sharing his teaching with you over a 4week course

(See the note about the origin of this Rhythm.)

In session1 you learn the Intro, and the Outro, the two main djembe parts to include the Break and the first part of the Song!!!!!

Keeping in mind that we as a Drum circle must be faithfull to our roots this piece requires you to gargle wuth the TCP and bring whatever voice you got to the floor.!
Yee ha maybe a sing song!

FOR ANY OF YOU THAT THINK SINGING AS NOWT TO DO WIV DUMMIN..... YOU ARE SOOOO WRONG!
( dont worry its REal catchy n therefore easy to pik up n its only 2lines )

When we got through all that, Some improvisation or-doing your own thing - will be encouraged, which will get you used to the rivim ready for part 2.....

In this first week all newcomers will be shown the "tones" before commencing with the rivim, the course is open to all levels BUT please be aware that if you join in the 2nd week, YES! you will
be playing CATCHUP!

Please Also note that therewill be no FAG BREAK as such during this course, have breaks wenya want to
just there will be no set BREAK for the group,
so all official stuff will be dun before the session commences and then
wen the BAll STARTS ROLLING IT KEEPS ON ROLLING!!!!( Plus it means I will mor Likely FINISH
nearer to 9 Than 10!!!!)

Members are encouraged to block book if they can!
And as such discounts on the meet-up costs will be available to those willing to cough up the cash for all sessions at week one.

Weekly Session Cost £5.00 Full members

4 Session booking discounted to £18.00....... Full members only¬!

Associate members @ £6.00 per session

Nottingham - United Kingdom

Monday, February 1 at 7:00 PM

Attending: 16

Fee: Price: GBP 5.00 per person

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Nottingham-tribal-drum/calendar/12270004/

Nottingham Tribal Drum Group

"Tansole"

As taught by that Master of Djembe of ABC 2009

Hans Sutton

Time to put the whole thing together
Intro, Main rivim , Break, Song, Break, Solo, Break, Outro

WE CAN DO THAT CANT WE?????

So this will be kinda linkin in wiv BoomBoom's "Bring it..." sessions cuz if its engrained enuff we can explore how to perform it e.g who guna tek rivim roles n soloists n ow it can be played wiv out da duns if ya aint got any on a particular nite, n the song arrangment if ya dont feel confident enuff to sing all da song if I aint deh! n sound levels like wen to BASH n wen to BREEEEZE
There will be 15 mins of Basic Technique review/ at the start
So OBVIOUSLY IF YA WANNA DRUM WIVUS BUT AINT BEEN HERE THE LAST 3 WEEKS, YA BETTA OFF WAITIN FOR FOR THE SECOUND ROUND OF BOOMBOOM'S SESSIONS THAT COMMENCE NEXT WEEK

So get ya drums out, Respect the Goats n lets HAVE A FUNKY GOOD TIME

Please Also note that therewill be no FAG BREAK as such during this course, have breaks wenya want to
just there will be no set BREAK for the group,
so all official stuff will be dun before the session commences and then
wen the BAll STARTS ROLLING IT KEEPS ON ROLLING!!!!( Plus it means I will mor Likely FINISH
nearer to 9 Than 10!!!!)

Members are encouraged to block book if they can!
And as such discounts on the meet-up costs will be available to those willing to cough up the cash for all sessions at week one.

Nottingham - United Kingdom

Monday, February 22 at 7:00 PM

Attending: 4

Fee: Price: GBP 5.00 per person

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Nottingham-tribal-drum/calendar/12400297/

Nottingham Tribal Drum Group

"Tansole"

As taught by that Master of Djembe at ABC 2009

Hans Sutton

So now We got the Groove Down its time to learn da Solo!
the "Solo" is made up of Phrases like "Soko" which wen played alone, mek nice catchy rivims ya can use
in ya Jams ( no not ya preservstives BoomBoom.
This will engage all from beginners to Level3 playing experience- tho as warned las week absolute beginners may struggle this week by that I mean anyone who has'nt touched drum before.
The Dun Players will be asked to learn this solo so that they can get an understanding of ow the Duns
Hold the Rivims together. Tisallgud avinda Soloist flashing away at da front n getin all da Glory

bt they owe so much to those on whose shoulders they stand i.e the duns and accompanying djembe players. You watch any of the West African Drum and Dance Ensembles and c ow they show the uttermost
Biggup for the Riddim Section speshly the Duns.

so we aim to learn half of the solo this week and then add the Backbone to it!

This course is open to all levels but;
there will be 15 mins of Basic Technique review/teaching at the start
so please be aware of that if you are joining this week there will be a bit of catch up
on your part.

Please Also note that therewill be no FAG BREAK as such during this course, have breaks wenya want to
just there will be no set BREAK for the group,
so all official stuff will be dun before the session commences and then
wen the BAll STARTS ROLLING IT KEEPS ON ROLLING!!!!( Plus it means I will mor Likely FINISH
nearer to 9 Than 10!!!!)

Members are encouraged to block book if they can!
And as such discounts on the meet-up costs will be available to those willing to cough up the cash for all sessions at week one.

Nottingham - United Kingdom

Monday, February 8 at 7:00 PM

Attending: 11

Fee: Price: GBP 5.00 per person

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Nottingham-tribal-drum/calendar/12399954/

Nottingham Tribal Drum Group

"Tansole"

As taught by that Master of Djembe at ABC 2009

Hans Sutton

So this week We will Warm up wiv wat we have so far and polish it a little then
learn some mor Phrases to add to the solo if we are getting on well.The Duns shall
shall be given a slight variation to play plus given time to practise on the break.
And.....
time to revisit the Song 2mor lines to learn agen kwite easy n catchy- its me dat sez da tongue twisting bit
So a lot to achieve in such short time
SO LETS GET IT ON!!

This course is open to all levels but;
there will be 15 mins of Basic Technique review/teaching at the start
so please be aware of that if you are joining this week there will be a bit of catch up
on your part.

Please Also note that therewill be no FAG BREAK as such during this course, have breaks wenya want to
just there will be no set BREAK for the group,
so all official stuff will be dun before the session commences and then
wen the BAll STARTS ROLLING IT KEEPS ON ROLLING!!!!( Plus it means I will mor Likely FINISH
nearer to 9 Than 10!!!!)

Members are encouraged to block book if they can!
And as such discounts on the meet-up costs will be available to those willing to cough up the cash for all sessions at week one.

Nottingham - United Kingdom

Monday, February 15 at 7:00 PM

Attending: 9

Fee: Price: GBP 5.00 per person

Details: http://www.meetup.com/Nottingham-tribal-drum/calendar/12400118/

Audi Fashion week took place in Johannesburg last week Thursday. One of the most highly anticipated shows was fashion darling David Tlale's show. Invite only, cloaked in secrecy, security and a mood of anticipation the show promised to be one of his best yet. We went to David's studio before fashion week to get a sneak peek of what the designer had in store. The garments were beautifully constructed, they looked like art pieces: Here is a peep from the men's range: Hey Dennis : Matthew...

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JuaCali sent this heat to me today and I couldn’t hold it, I felt fire burning in my hands and I just had to drop it right there and then. Funny thing is I had just seen the video about an hour or two ago and I was like damn this is one sick TRACK. I mean JuaCali is a genius story finished. No more to add no more to edit. I honestly cant talk about this track because there isn’t much to say about it. THE TRACK IS FIRE.

Brand new music from Jua and Ksoja a new artists about to break the market. And from his first verse I can tell yall Calif Records is going to run 2010. For all you Genge FANs here is an EXCLUSIVE. you heard it first and copped it first on GetMziki…

listen to mabeste damu here:

Download audio file (Juacali_feat_K_soja-mabeste_damu.mp3)

download the track here:

watch the video here:

Austin Jay Jay Okocha - Guinness Greatness Ambassador Guinness®, the Official Beer of The Super Eagles announced a Man of Greatness Award scheme to recognise the…

A brand new glossy has just joined the African magazine market. FAB Magazine is a high-end Quarterly Fashion and Lifestyle print magazine with 80% African…

Yes, I'm back. Like they'll say in Ghana, wɔabɔga bio. Well, I've been back to Yankee for more than two weeks but this is my first post of the new decade. Had too much fun chillaxing and chilluping in Ghana to blog, so I saved most of my thoughts as texts on my Nokia phone. In fact, na Borga nso ayɛ loose to afford the costs of slow Ghanaian internet. It's not always easy for us Borgas. Even when we have 'returned' to Ghana on holidays to visit families and do other things, we find the costs of living not much different from 'Aburokyire'. Ghana's fastest and hottest rapper at the moment, Sarkodie knows this too. He composed a song about Ghanaians in the Diaspora and it is quickly becoming a cult classic. In fact, in the years to come, we shall all remember Sarkodie's Borga as one of the legendary hiplife songs. Let me tell you why.

Michael Owusu, known to many fans as Sarkodie, is a hiplife artist. He had spent the last few years freestyling and engaging in rap battles in Tema. Rumour has it that he never lost one. If you've watched Eminem's 8 Mile, Sarkodie has a similar story. He recorded various underground mixtapes and then eventually became widely known after featuring on Ayigbe Edem's Bougez (Ke va) song. His first music video, Babe (baby), featuring Mugeez of R2Bees catapulted him into the national spotlight. He's still been churning mixtapes, his 'Politics' track surfaced around the 2008 elections and quickly went viral. Today, he has been signed to Konvict SA, Akon's record label in Africa. Hiplife legend, Obrafour, featured him on one of his latest singles, Hiplife, as if to say, Sarkodie was to bear the torch for the genre in these times and beyond. With songs like Lay Away (ft Sway), Edey be (ft Paedae), Altar, and a monumental song like Borga, the sky is the limit for Sarkodie.

Borga is a name given to Ghanaians who are abroad or who've returned on holidays or for a short time. Since these people are usually held in high esteem, it's a nice title to have. Many families in Ghana look forward to Borgas' remittances. In fact, so far as you are a Borga, you are expected to release cash every now and then to folks back home. It matters not how or when or if you get the cash. Like the chorus of the song says, Borgas try to survive with the pay or salaries they get, working extra hours to make it some day. For some Borgas, the day never comes. They end up staying at one job for a lifetime and never return home as planned. Money is power, it can cloud your judgment and revise your dreams.

Because Borgas are held in high esteem, they sometimes seem to lord their esteem over Ghanaians back home, whether they are in Ghana or still at their bases. When proper research is done, one will find that many Borgas are indeed 'suffering' at thier bases. They are clutching at straws to maintain 'flashy' lifestyles or be the breadwinners for their families. Here's where Sarkodie's song takes root. He asks, "Bɔga, bɔga ɛna ɛyɛɛ dɛn!" This is loosely translated as "You are a Borga, and so what?" The following part of the chorus describes a little conversation between Borgas. "Masa, na wobaa year bɛn; Me, mebaayɛ nkyɛɛyɛ, afei na mabɛdu nti obi nsoa me o na me kɔn mu rebu" - Master, which year did you come? Me, I haven't been here long, I just got here so someone should help me with this burden because it is too heavy".

Sarkodie describes different situations some Borgas are in. He states that someone may be in Canada and has to beg for what he eats. He goes on say, "You live and work in Ghana, at the very least, you have somewhere to sleep. You've collected money to get a visa, you want to travel to America just to suffer". And it's true. Go to the American embassy to see. It's called the African dream. The African dream is to seek greener (or pink) pastures abroad. It's not just in this common case of people using all they have just to get a taste of America, but you can also see it in the 'brain drain', seeking medical help abroad and other cases. "Aburokyire tumi ma ɔsɔfo nom jot; Ɔpɛ sɛ ɔtwitwa n'adwendwen so short" - Living abroad can make a pastor take up smoking; wanting to cut short his worries".

"Dɛn na ɛyɛ fɛ sɛ makɔdi holidays; na maba fie na mente obiaa case" A lot of Ghanaian students travel to the US, UK and other places during vacations. Many have the same goal, find a job, make some money, come back home and spend it. Or spend the money there, come back and let everyone know there have been changes in one's lifestyle. There is always a difference between the student who has 'borgaed' and the one who hasn't. The Borgas have this air around them. As for Sarkodie, he is not enthralled by the features of 'Aburokyire'. He rates fried rice over 'superghetti'.

Sarkodie's song has sparked various responses, mostly from Ghanaian artists based abroad who seem to argue that they are better off than Sarkodie, who is living in Ghana. One response from Fada & San is a direct remix to Sarkodie's Borga, pretty much calling his song, "boila" or rubbish. They state that they don't like the Ghana Cedi, but they like the dollar. "when you reach Miami, you will see that Accra is a village". They diss an Honourable Minister for becoming a photographer upon seeing Obama. They argue that toothpicks are not even made in Ghana. This line has been used for a long time, someone should please tell me why someone in Ghana is making toothpicks in Ghana today. Fada & San chorus, "If you don't have money, shut up. We haven't been around for too long, but we see our riches and possessions, you will be shocked." Except these things are probably on credit and there are outstanding bills to pay. Hey, fada & San have an admirable remix, but I'm sticking with Sarko on this one. :-)

Doing menial jobs abroad are ends to a means. Some people use the opportunity of traveling to set themselves up for better jobs and better standards of living for them and their families. You can't exactly walk into a well-paying and lucrative job in someone else's land. Even in Ghana, things are changing. Many Borgas are returning to Ghana for good. This is partly because of the economic crisis in the developed countries and the many lucrative and comfortable job opportunities being created in Ghana. Look around for the most successful, entrepreneurial and popular Ghanaians today, most of them live in Ghana. Granted, some of them may have lived abroad at some point, but many of them are really making their names by their exploits back home.

Sarkodie ends the song with a word of advice. "Nya ntoboaseɛ ma wo nnwom na ɛbɛben" - Have patience with your music and it shall be well. It's not all rosy abroad. We can all make it Ghana or wherever in Africa we find ourselves. We don't have to give up the little luxuries we enjoy to suffer in someone else's land before we 'can make it'. Sarkodie doesn't argue against travelling, he supports it. I agree with him. It's my wish many of us get the chance to travel and experience other cultures and places, it opens our eyes to different possibilities, ideas, attitudes and mannerisms. Being second-class citizens is not one of the wishes.

I was at BarCamp Ghana last December and one of the breakout sessions was about travel and development. I wasn't able to attend the whole session but I believe the conversation centered around how traveling abroad can change people's outlook and how a lot of Ghana's leaders of today seem to have the 'outside' experience. I fall into the category of Borgas, but I am in love with this song. In fact, I knew about the song before I went to Ghana last Christmas, but hearing it there made me love it more. When the song was played in Shirley Frimpong-Manso's "A Sting In A Tale", I was sold. Of course, Sarkodie's song is just one take on the whole Diasporean/Borga issue. The conversation must continue. We must make the most out of our travels, "African dream pursuits", etc.

Photo from www.discovery.org

The Colorado Springs Drum Circle Meetup Group

Heads up for the February version of the drumming meetup. Just planning ahead, folks. :)
Sorry I had to change the date, but plans changed.

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 - USA

Saturday, February 6 at 3:00 PM

Attending: 17

Fee: Price: USD 1.00 per person

Details: http://www.meetup.com/drumcircle-279/calendar/12026021/

Here’s a new single by rising act Gais (pronounced Gaze); reflecting the situation in the country. Bold, frank and positive, Gais uses his art to mirror Nigeria’s current situation, while speaking the minds of millions of hopeless youths spread around the country. DOWNLOAD: Gais – Save Nigeria READ THE LYRICS BY CLICKING BELOW Intro Father, Hear our Prayers, eh…eh…eh.., Save [...]

This is the remix of DIL’s hit single ‘I Don Land’ featuring EME fast rising act Wizkid and KEL. DOWNLOAD: DIL ft. Wizkid & KEL – I Don Land (Remix)

Dejossy is a Nigerian artist based in Sweden and he is currently working on his new project titled ‘Mystical Music’ with ‘Thinking’ About You’ being the first single off it. Enjoy! DOWNLOAD: Dejossy – Thinking About You ft. FreddeRico

Nimekuwa katika vuguvugu la habari na mawasiliano kwa njia ya blog kwa muda sasa.Kila siku huwa napitia blogs zaidi ya 500! Huwa natumia huduma ya www.bloglines.com. Ukiandika kitu basi naambiwa umeandika na hivyo napita na kusoma.Ukiwa hujaandika,basi siku hiyo napata muda wa kuperuzi au kutafuta blogs zingine,kuziingiza kwenye orodha yangu ya bloglines.Siku inakuwa imekwenda au naendelea na kazi zingine.

Leo nikiwa katika pitia pitia yangu mtandaoni,nimekutana na blog ya Madaraka Nyerere,mtoto wa Hayati Baba wa Taifa,Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere. Cha kwanza kilichonijia kichwani ni hasira fulani.Iweje siku zote hizi sikujua kuhusu blog ya Madaraka? Haikutangazwa au ilikuwaje? Hasira zangu ziliyeyuka kama vile barafu inapopigwa na jua baada ya kuanza kuipitia blog yake.Imesheheni habari kemkem.Madaraka ni mwandishi mzuri.Simulizi zake ni nyepesi kama pamba lakini maudhui yake ni mazito kuliko yale mawe yanaouzunguka mji wa Mwanza.

Bonyeza hapa ili kuitembelea blog hiyo. Nikisema mkaribishe nitakuwa nakosea kwani amekuwepo kwa muda sasa.Bravo Madaraka.

Pichani juu ni Madaraka Nyerere(kulia) akiwa na Jaffar Amin,mtoto wa Iddi Amini aliyewahi kuwa Rais wa Uganda. Soma zaidi kuhusu mkutano wao.

CD REVIEW
various artists: Alan Lomax in Haiti (Harte Recordings)

I recently hung out with a friend who isn't insensitive to others' suffering, but he changed the channel every time something about Haiti came on the TV. I understand, and even sympathize: TV news has a way of turning tragedy into sappy, heart-wrenching drama while ignoring the big picture. We hear about a woman pulled from the rubble, or a child orphaned in the earthquake. We don't hear about the geopolitical, social, economic, and environmental problems that contributed to the tragedy or resulted from it. It's an odd kind of zen "nowness," this isolated view one gets from TV news.

Getting into that isn't really the place of this global-culture blog. But instead of getting compassion fatigue, I suggest digging a little deeper. Check out the Christian Science Monitor's Haiti diary, or articles on commondreams.org. Or post your own resources in the comments.

There really is music at the heart of this post, and it starts back in March 2004 when the Library of Congress's American Folklife Center obtained the Alan Lomax Collection. You probably know that Lomax was a tremendous collector/recorder of sounds and other cultural information from all over the planet. The collection includes more than 5,000 hours of sound recordings, 400,000 feet of motion picture film, 2,450 videotapes, 2,000 scholarly books and journals, hundreds of photographic prints and negatives, and more.

Alan Lomax in Haiti makes a wealth of music and information available for the first time to the general public. The box set includes 10 CDs and rich liner notes on various types of music, including Mardi Gras songs, Meringues and Urban music, Troubador music, the sounds of Vodou, romantic songs, children's songs, labor songs, and worship songs. Lomax recorded all of these songs during a four-month tour of Haiti in 1936-1937, and we have to note that the sound quality sounds like what you'd expect from 75-year old field recordings: scratchy, noisy, thin -- yet still fascinating.

This song was recorded on March 19, 1937, and relates a chilling tale of murder, made more poignant in light of post-earthquake looting and violence:
I heard a shout behind the hill
Let's go see what's going on
Brother Lombri killed a woman
for kongo pea soup

[mp3] students of L'Ecole Normal, Port-au-Prince: "Deyè mòn-la, ann prale wè" (Behind the hill, let's go see)
from Alan Lomax in Haiti

The collection includes plenty of more-lighthearted material, including the mutual-aid society songs on Volume 9: Konbit and Banbock: Songs of Labor and Leisure. The music doesn't have the upbeat swing of calypso, versions of which were popular elsewhere in the Caribbean at the same time, and probably will be less engaging to the casual listener. For the culturally thirsty listener who can afford the three-digit price tag of this set, however, a world of learning far removed from the TV news awaits.

More:
Buy Box Set of 10 CDs
The Haiti Box blog (selling the box set for $115, with $15 going directly to local disaster relief organizations in Haiti)
Alan Lomax at wikipedia
Alan Lomax on Facebook
The Alan Lomax Collection









SoundRoots

I am posting this track because its been on high demand, one of our enthusiast has been asking for the track for almost 3 months now. I apologize I couldn’t immediately post it for reasons beyond my control however today I think its okay to blast this track. There isnt much to add to JAB as far as am concerned everything I could have said has been said already. Just A Band continue doing your thing and making good music. I like this video – its not your average Kenyan music video at all.

Enjoy!

listen to Usinibore here:

Download audio file (Just_A_Band-Usinibore.mp3)

download the track here:

watch the video here:

Mabingwa wa Ligi ya mpira wa kikapu nchini Marekani(mara nyingi hujiita World Champions) kwa mwaka wa 2009,L.A.Lakers,jana walitembelea White House.

Pichani ni manahodha wa L.A.Lakers,Kobe Bryant na Derick Fisher(mbele karibu na Rais Barack Obama) wakimkabidhi jezi na mpira. Rais Obama sio tu ni mpenzi mkubwa wa mpira wa kikapu bali ni mchezaji mzuri wa mchezo huo.Are you an L.A.Lakers fan?

Green White Green (The Nigerian Issues Meetup Group)

This Nigerian party, organized by a friend of mine named Julius, holds at this restaurant twice a month.

This is usually a night of good Nigerian food, a Nigerian DJ spinning good Nigerian music (and some other popular genres), hanging out with Nigerians and others who love Naija events.

Cover charge is $5.00

San Jose, CA 95128 - USA

Friday, January 29 at 10:00 PM

Attending: 1

Details: http://www.meetup.com/greenwhitegreen/calendar/12420825/