Fela is Coming to Los Angeles, FINALLY
Los Angeles…you’ve had to listen people from other cities — and countries – rave about ‘Fela!’, for ages. Now you can see what they’ve been screaming about for yourself. The production — based on the life of Nigerian music legend Fela Kuti – is coming to the Los Angeles Music Center! In December!
Fela! was originally slated to come to LA in April 2012, but was moved the start date forward to December 2011 because of schedule changes. But that’s by the by. If you’ve been living under a rock, and don’t know what we’re talking about, then watch this video to see what you’ve been missing. Then go see it.
“Water No Get Enemy” from FELA! Original Broadway Cast Recording from Fela Kuti on Vimeo.
Share on Facebook Read MoreAnother World is Possible: Nicole Sconiers
Nicole D. Sconiers is the author of a new book called Escape from Beckyville: Tales of Race, Hair and Rage, a collection of ten stories set in “a futuristic Los Angeles.” (Yup, this is Black Speculative Fiction.) While the world Sconiers has created is fantasy(esque), the issues she deals with are very real – Black hair, relationships, race and more – all of it tackled with wit and humor.
Nicole’s personal story is as interesting as any of those in her book. She left a job at the top-rated Dr. Phil show, where she worked for nearly eight years, to write and self-publish Escape from Beckyville. As you’ll hear in our conversation, venturing off uncharted territory is a little scary, but she’s very excited about her future!
Heavy D Passes Away
Wow. It’s another of those strange days. Less than 24 hours after Joe Frazier, another important figure in African American and Global Black culture passes away, we hear about the passing of Heavy D, who played a prominent role in the soundtrack of teenagers growing up in the 90s.
Here’s video from one of his final perfomances, at the 2011 BET Hip Hop Awards. He performed a medley of his 90′s hits.
Share on Facebook Read MoreLes Nubians
When people ask me what I am (and I’m asked that a lot), I say, “British-Born Ghanaian.” It’s a term I settled on in my teens after deciding to accept – rather than reject – the encounter between Great Britain and Ghana, the main cultural and historic influences in my life. It turns out I wasn’t alone in my thinking about cultural identity. Helene and Celia Fussart, also known as Les Nubians, make music that embraces their many influences while also staying firmly rooted in African culture. They even came up with a far more catchy (and, quite frankly, more inclusive) term than my hybrid designation: “Afropean.”
I talked to Les Nubians just before their performance at The Conga Room in downtown LA. (You can view more of their tour dateshere.) The discussion was wide ranging from their latest album, Nü Revolution, to the difficult work of maintaining your cultural integrity in a cultural climate that alludes to, but is still afraid of, true diversity. We also talked about some of their recent collaborations, including a very exciting one with Manu Dibango, the man behind Soul Makossa, which some say is the first disco record. (Does that mean Africa created disco?! You’re welcome!)
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