BBC Africa On Your Street

Feature: African music in 2006
A round-up of 2006 and look ahead to 2007
By Ilka Schlockermann

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/africaonyourstreet/feature_roundup06.shtml

Why we shouldn't legalise prostitution

When We Ruled

BOOK REVIEW

Every black household should own a copy of When We Ruled, Robin Walker’s epic opus chronicling African civilisation throughout the ages. Eloquently debunking the prevailing myth that African history began with slavery and ended with colonialism, Walker’s authoritative work goes in to painstaking detail about the Africa of our ancestors – the empires, the scholarship and the architecture - lending credibility to the much-maligned fact that Africa is indeed the cradle of humanity. Quoting from respected Arab and European establishment scholars and employing the use of maps and other historical imagery, Walker leaves no stone unturned in his quest to uncover the hidden truth of the continent’s former glory.

When We Ruled is a masterpiece of precision. Furthermore, it’s testament to the tenacity, conviction and vision of one man in search of the truth. Walker, who is now a secondary school teacher, worked for years as a night porter to support his research. Following in the hard-fought tradition of African-American scholars like DuBois, Walker is a pioneer of black British scholarship in historical African study. Such are the potential consequences of his groundbreaking work that historians, academics and liberals alike are frightened of what When We Ruled reveals. Even left-leaning papers like The Guardian have refused to review it and there will undoubtedly be people of African descent who, following years of Eurocentric conditioning will find some of Walker’s revelations hard to swallow.

At over 700 pages When We Ruled is a mammoth undertaking, both for the writer and the reader but it’s well worth the effort. Walker should be commended for he’s performed a great service to African and World history. The legacy of his work, if fully appreciated and embedded in the collective consciousness as it deserves to be, will be a more educated society, a more fulfilled people and a more productive Africa and its Diaspora.

When We Ruled by Robin Walker, published by Every Generation Media is out now priced £30 (Hardcover). Get your copy now. More info: www.whenweruled.com

Hip-Hop at its Best

Be, be, 'fore we came to this country
We were kings and queens, never porch monkeys
There was empires in Africa called Kush
Timbuktu, where every race came to get books
To learn from black teachers who taught Greeks and Romans
Asian Arabs and gave them gold when
Gold was converted to money it all changed
Money then became empowerment for Europeans
The Persian military invaded
They heard about the gold, the teachings, and everything sacred
Africa was almost robbed naked
Slavery was money, so they began making slave ships
Egypt was the place that Alexander the Great went
He was so shocked at the mountains with black faces
Shot up they nose to impose what basically
Still goes on today, you see?
If the truth is told, the youth can grow
Then learn to survive until they gain control...

Nas, I Can taken from the album God's Son (Columbia, 2002)

Beautiful Black Love: II

Girlfriends - The best show on TV

What makes Girlfriends, a.k.a Sex and the City for black women, so good? Great ensemble cast, excellent storylines, acerbic on-point one-liners and super sharp wardrobes. Compulsive viewing!

Girfriends is shown on Wednesday nights at 9pm on Trouble.

Beautiful Black Love

Blair's Myth of Multiculturalism

The Britishness currently on offer from New Labour, however, comes in just two flavours: Anglo and Saxon. Thus are the limits of the political class's understanding of cultural hybridity, rendering Britain a racially monolithic, ethnically pure and culturally static state into which non-white and non-Christian people can either adapt, or from which they should be banished.

"Our tolerance is part of what makes Britain Britain. Conform, or don't come here. We don't want the hate-mongers, whatever their race, religion or creed," Blair said. Quite what one does with the hate-mongers who were born here - whether they are the jihadists or the BNP - is difficult to fathom.

Gary Younge, At least in America they understand the notion of cultural difference, published in The Guardian, Monday, 11th December 2006

Ring the Alarm!

Mainstream magazine features black people on the cover! Albeit Beyoncé Knowles, Jamie Foxx and Eddie Murphy but nonetheless the January 2007 issue of Vanity Fair deserves an honourable mention for acknowledging the stars of a film that The Guardian rightly points out that “only a few years ago, would have been confined to African-American audiences, a black musical with black stars and barely a white co-star in sight. That the film is being considered - and heavily pushed by the studio - for Oscars is a major development in Hollywood and American mainstream culture.”

What's On Ghana magazine 2006 - Still Going Strong!

Call to Action: Act now against this injustice!

RACE ATTACK VICTIM SENTENCED TO 2 AND ½ YEARS

A black man, who was viciously assaulted whilst travelling home with his girlfriend, has been sent to prison for defending himself against his racist attackers. Aaron Bennett 24 of Beeston, Nottingham was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday for causing facial scarring to two males who attacked him and hisgirlfriend on May 7th 2005. His attackers, James Morris and Jonathon Marshall both from Nottingham were not prosecuted and in a major injustice were given compensation for their injuries.

The judge claimed that the injuries received by Bennett and his girlfriend Philippa Tedds 23, were superficial in comparison to the lifetime scars received by their attackers. He claimed that Bennett had gone too far even though the weapon he used belonged to Morris who had stabbed him in the hand and thigh before he received his injuries. The incident took place yards from Bennett's home as he and his girlfriend travelled home from a night out. Morris and Marshall began verbally abusing the pair on the bus and proceeded to chase them once they had reached their stop.

Eyewitnesses testified to this, yet the attack was not presented as racially motivated in court. The driver of the bus Aaron and Philippa were travelling on made a statement stating that he had witnessed Morris grab Bennett as well as Marshall verbally abusing the couple. He also stated that he had witnessed the two of them chase the couple down the street. However, his statement was not used in court.

Several pieces of incriminating evidence, which could have been used by the defence, were omitted from the police inquiry in what can only be described as cover up. Police disposed of a mobile phone, which had been smashed by Morris as Aaron attempted to use it to call for help. No fingerprints were taken.The knife, which Aaron had used, was also not checked for Morris's fingerprints even though Aaron had said that Morris had stabbed him with it first. The judge said that he did not believe that it belonged to Morris yet did not have any evidence to prove that it belonged to Aaron either. CCTV from a house near by the attack caught footage of Marshall shouting, "Lets kill these cunts, lets kill um!" Another witness who lives near to where the incident took place testified to hearing loud shouts of "Nigga".

However the judge, who claimed that the pair did indeed provoke the attack, did not see that Morris or Marshall needed to be reprimanded for their part in the incident. This is even in light of the fact that Philippa received serious head injuries after being kicked in the head and dragged by her hair by Marshall.

This case is a perfect example of how institutionalised racism is still ingrained in Britain. The police acted against Aaron from the offset and made it as difficult as possible for the defence to build a case against Marshall and Morris. A member of Nottinghamshire constabulary, Robert Griffin, was aboard the bus when Marshall and Morris began their tirade yet he apparentlydid not see anything. Coincidently Griffin is a family friend of Marshall and Morris who are cousins, another example of a cover up.

The British justice system has proved that it holds allegiances only to its "own kind." The local media have also ignored the fact that this was in fact a racially motivatedattack and have seemingly not picked up on the fact that a gross injusticehas occurred. Aaron Bennett has been portrayed as a black thug who goes aroundscarring people when the truth is very far from that.

Something needs to be done to right this wrong. Please show your support for Aaron Bennett by publicising his story.

Remembering Ken Saro-Wiwa

"The writer cannot be a mere storyteller; he cannot be a mere teacher; he cannot merely X-ray society's weaknesses, its ills, its perils. He or she must be actively involved shaping its present and its future."
Ken Saro-Wiwa (1941-1995)

www.remembersarowiwa.com

How much is a black life worth?

50 police bullets. RIP brother! We won't let you die in vain. Email the NYPD now:
http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mailnypd.html

MOBOs No No

Like most music fans I stayed up last night to watch the 11th annual Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards. We’d been eagerly anticipating this show for weeks, not because Beyonce was scheduled (or not) to perform but because the awards promised to showcase some of the best black British music talent today. As an added bonus, our boy Batman was also in the running to once again shine a light on Ghana on the world stage and I was also keeping my fingers crossed for Lemar and secretly rooting for Kano and Sway. So there was plenty of vested interest.

But yesterday’s show was a dire disappointment. From the moment the cameras panned to a half empty (or half full?) Royal Albert Hall you knew it would all be downhill from there. When the cameras did pick up revellers they all looked about 12, as if they’d absconded through their bedroom windows to make it to the venue. The atmosphere felt decidedly flat and there was no vibe in the air.

Gina Yashere was an OK host but to drag one-hit wonder Coolio from the 90’s in to the contemporary era was a big mistake (and yes, I know that the Gangsta’s Paradise rapper is launching a comeback). It only amplified the fact that the MOBOs failed to pull the kind of big draw hosts they’d secured in the past.

The individual award hosts, too, were a rag tag army of D-listers and has-beens and even they looked embarrassed to be reading the stodgy ‘spontaneous’ lines that interspersed the nominations. Kelle Bryan, Lisa I’Anson, Michelle Gayle, Miss Britain, Miss World, whatever! Why?? There were many others but even today I still don’t know who they are. Hardly the cream of the crop of current UK talent. And Trevor Phillips presenting an anti-slavery award? Please! Next, he’ll be heading up a government race equality watchdog:)

The live performances were also below par. While my boy Lemar did hold it down for most of his set, towards the end he audibly fell off. Corinne Bailey Rae, who I know can give a great live performance, looked and sounded tired and I don’t even know where to begin with Jamelia! (Sister looked good, though!) Letoya, who was supposed to be the big American draw was, well, not Beyonce and failed to live up to (small) expectations.

But there was light at the (very) end of the (long) tunnel. Keisha White’s soulful duet with Sam Moore was uplifting and engaging, and the old man showed the youngsters that they’re still just pretenders.

To be fair, the problem with yesterday’s show was that there were no big beats and that let the party down. What happened to the hip-hop heads (e.g. 50 Cent) and classic duets (e.g. Jay Kay and Diana Ross) of earlier MOBO years that consistently bought the house down? Where were the big name acts to grace the stage? I won’t even go in to the dropping of the jazz act category.

What the event did was to expose the gaping hole that exists, not within the British music industry but within the MOBOs itself. What started out as an awards show to salute the finest black UK music talent has become so big that it’s now almost a second-rate Brits. Let’s get back to basics and start honouring those who deserve to win, not those who we think will attract the biggest sponsors.

Respect to Lemar and Corinne Bailey Rae, the truly worthy winners of the night! SA.

Batman / Ghana triumph at the MOBOs

Nice award. Not too sure about the suit though:)

Star Power at the UN

But will it make a difference?

Save Darfur

Get Educated / Watch Film

Last night I was at the BFM International Film Festival at the ICA to watch a series of films examining the global power of hip-hop and the slavery and reparations debate. Each of the four films was distinct but the common thread in the narrative was how people of African descent, both in the Motherland and in the Diaspora continue to suffer from the effects of slavery and colonialism.

In A Black Scholar Investigates Colonialism I learnt about a man called Ralph Bunche, a pioneer of Pan-Africanism and African cultural studies whose name has virtually been erased from the history books. Yet Bunche was the first black man to win the Nobel Peace Prize and was a Secretary-General of the United Nations. A celebrated life, William Greaves enlightening film sheds light on Bunche’s unwavering commitment to the cause of Africa and his people. A Black Scholar reminded us that not too long ago black people in America were being lynched, Jim Crowed and denied basic human rights and this was after the abolition of slavery! The film also contained a rare and interesting clip of Haile Selassie speaking at the League of Nations, pleading for help to stop the Italian invasion of Ethiopia but he was literally barracked off the podium.

By far the most disturbing and unsettling film of the night was Bling: Consequences and Repercussions, a documentary about how hip-hop’s obsession with diamonds has indirectly contributed to the brutal deaths of thousands of Sierra Leoneans in the country’s civil war. Blood diamonds are diamonds that have been sold to finance the military activity of rebel groups. Graphic footage of summary executions and mutilations of men and children made me flinch and shockingly rammed home the sheer depths of depravity to which the country sunk over the eleven year conflict. The relationship between hip-hop and ostentatious bling has never been explored in this depth. While Kanye West’s Diamonds bought the issue in to the global hip-hop consciousness, it failed to spark a campaign among fellow rapper’s speaking out against conflict diamond. Quite frankly, hip-hop needs to wake up to the consequences and repercussions of bling and get active.

As the last credits rolled, I left the auditorium feeling inspired and motivated by the force of what I’d witnessed. Film is a powerful medium and can teach in a way that traditional education can’t. The documentaries empowered me to renew my pledge of allegiance to Africa. I am an African. I may not have been born there but I feel wholly African in the way that British people are supposed to feel European.

Africans in the Diaspora have a duty to actively work for the advancement of the continent and the enlightenment of people around the world. We must take responsibility for our own heritage and future. If we don’t, then Africa and Africans will never get the dues we deserve. And we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves. SA.

When will it ever end?

Another day, another senseless murder.
RIP Jessie James.

A Hard Day's Night / Another Late Night at the Office

Keteke Nightclub, 09/09/06
Featuring Ghana music's finest:

Kwabena Kwabena
Wutah
Praye
Tinny

and many more...

What did you get up to last night?

OK. So last night I spent the best part of an evening literally hanging around at hip lifestyle bar Manjaro in North London waiting endlessly for the launch of the Ghana Music Awards (GMA) UK.

As with all things Ghanaian the event was scheduled to start at 6pm and finish at 8.30 but things didn’t kick off until close to 9pm! Liberties! As if we didn’t have a job to go to in the morning!

Now you’d think having pissed off the press it would be hard to give an objective account of the event’s proceedings. But that would be just petty!:)

Despite the unnecessary three hour wait, it would be churlish to deny that the organisers of the GMAs have definitely stepped up a gear this year with a new venue (the New Connaught Rooms) and a new approach to engaging the media (believe me, last year was a whole lot worse!) Much effort had obviously gone into preparing the media packs and producing a DVD presentation of the 100 nominees competing in twenty-one categories.

In the end, as more people rolled up on Ghana time, it turned out to be a night where you reconnected with people you either wanted to see, needed to see or would rather not have seen but in such an enclosed space avoidance was an impossibility.

As for the GMAs, I'll reserve judgement until the actual event comes off on Saturday, 7th October in Central London. Organisers promise live performances from ten top acts from the world of hip-life and high-life. Check it out if you dare!

For more info on the Ghana Music Awards UK log on to www.gmaaward.com

New Labour, Same Sh*t!

No Woman, No Cry: In Conversation with Rita Marley

I don’t know what it was that convinced me to pick up No Woman No Cry at my local bookstore one Saturday afternoon in early 2005. Though I’d always been a fan of Bob Marley’s music (who isn’t?) I didn’t know much about the man other than that he was a devout Rastafarian and profound and prolific songwriter. That was enough for me. No Woman No Cry was a complete impulse buy but from the first page to the last I was hooked! Not just on the insights into the life and motivations of the great Bob Marley, but on the story of how his wife Rita survived turbulent times and public heartbreak to stand by her man.

Reading the book was a frustrating and infuriating experience. You wonder how an obviously intelligent and articulate woman could allow herself to be abused and humiliated by her husband’s frequent public affairs. You want to fling the book down in protest at Rita’s tacit compliance in her husband’s infidelity but because it’s a page turner, you’re forced to bear witness to the tragedy that ensues. With every page you feel moved to simultaneously shake her and console her. Perhaps it’s a woman thing.

Despite that, you can’t help but have respect for Rita Marley’s struggle. Mother, Wife, Widow, Grandmother, Activist, Philanthropist, Rita Marley is all of these things and more. She’s also a woman on a mission to see her and her late husband’s dream of African unity fulfilled. “Bob’s words were prophetic,” Rita insists. “He said, How good and how pleasant it will be towards God and man to see the unification of all Africans. As its been said already, let it be done. We’re hoping and praying that God will bless us with the strength to go all over Africa to bring attention to our people for unity. That’s the only strength we have as black people.”

When I met Nana Rita, as she is now known, she was in high-spirits. Not only was she in her favourite place, amongst the plants and flowers of her garden in the mountains of Aburi, Ghana, she was also celebrating the birth of her forty-second grandchild. Here she explains why it’s important to keep Bob Marley’s vision alive.

Q: What is it that drives you to keep Bob’s legacy alive?
A: Love for Bob and his livication. He died for the cause of his people. I knew it was real because I was a part of it. Everything that we do is for the purpose of our people. As a black woman with children and grandchildren I see a great future ahead. It’s important that we stand for the cause and keep the mission going so there is one Africa.

Q: Do you ever feel bitter that Bob gave so much of his life to the cause?
A: You have to give and take. There are times when you do but then when you realise what life means and what happens after death, if you believe in life after death

Q: When was the Rita Marley Foundation established and what is its mission?
A: It was set up about five years ago when I was enstooled as Queen Mother in a village called Konkonuru near Aburi. One of its main missions is to protect the poor and care for the infants. We have developed a lot of things. There’s a road, we’ve bought water, a community centre and now we’re in the process of building a health care centre with a holistic programme in terms of restoration, especially the old people, restoring them with their own natural herbs.

Q: What special role can women play in development?
A: Leadership. Leadership. Come on, leadership! It’s time for women to be on top as leaders and it starts in Africa. Why should Africa be in poverty when we are so rich in wealth from what God has given us on earth? We as black women should see ourselves as role models for our children and our children’s children and make our ancestors proud of us because we have a great heritage as black people. SA.

For more information on the Rita Marley Foundation visit www.ritamarleyfoundation.org.
No Woman, No Cry: My Life with Bob Marley can be purchased from Amazon.

Power to the People

An increasingly vocal number of Labour MPs believe things can only get better if Tony Blair turns his back on Number 10 once and for all. But for whom?

It's typical of the arrogance of politicians to assume they can parashoot a leader in to power without a care for the wants of the electorate. The last time I looked we lived in a democracy and, hate it or love it, only last year the British public voted for Labour under Tony Blair. If Gordon Brown wants to be Prime Minister let him convince the public of his worthiness at the polls not seize power by default in a media-orchestrated coup.

Less than ten years ago, the Labour Party went to great lengths to proclaim Tony Blair the Political Messiah, the saviour of Britain. And from their collective standpoint, what could possibly have gone so wrong? Did they not cooperatively support the government on tuition fess, benefit cuts and Iraq regardless of their own or their constituent's opposition?

MPs clearly have their eyes fixed on next year's local elections. But can they honestly claim to be representing the views of voters or are they simply flexing their political muscle to teach Tony a lesson? After all, in a few short months Tony will be on a permanent holiday in the Caribbean while feverish Labour MPs will be left out in the cold, on the doorsteps dealing with the disgruntlement that's left behind.

Irrespectively, democracy is like a marriage into which both parties willingly enter. Unless he, Tony or we, the people decide to terminate the union we're stuck together for better or worse, at least for a period of four years. The Party is simply the third person in the marriage.

New Labour is showing itself to be no respecter of history. Didn’t the premature ousting of Margaret Thatcher ultimately lead to the long political exile of the Conservative Party? But, unlike the frenetic civil activity that precipitated Mrs Thatcher’s downfall there’s no sense of urgency in the country to remove Tony Blair from office. In terms of foreign policy, home affairs or any other contentious area of strategy would anything really change if Gordon Brown, John Reid or some other Anointed One came in to power tomorrow? I think not.

Presently the only thing the Labour Party is achieving is what millions of pounds and numerous spin doctors failed to - making the Conservative Party look good. And while our choices are limited to the Tony Blair or Tony Blair by any other name it's sadly a case of better the devil you know. But that's for the people to decide. SA.

Africa, my Africa!

It’s not often that you get the chance to visit your home country and experience it objectively, warts and all, but that’s exactly what happened when I visited Ghana recently as a volunteer business advisor. As part of a team of sixteen Resource Persons on the AFFORD Enterprise Mission we were confronted head-on with the pitfalls, frustrations and challenges of doing business in Africa. The Mission, which was sponsored by VSO and in partnership with Barclays Bank, offered a unique opportunity to engage in Ghana’s economic development.

On our first full day of training in Accra our pre-departure visions of rooms full of eager businessmen and women desperate for advice were instantly shattered. Instead we were greeted by twenty-eight hostile individuals who made it clear that there was no point in teaching them business skills if they weren’t able to access finance at the end of it. It transpired that Barclays Business Club members are automatically eligible for a c50m (£3000) loan after one year of membership but the glass ceiling for accessing funds above this amount is virtually impenetrable. After an hour and a half of heated debate it became clear that it wasn’t us who were the focus of these entrepreneurs anger but they were frustrated by a banking system that gives them carrots with one hand and keeps them begging for more with the other.

The banking structure in Ghana for the average SME isn’t an enabling institution. For those with a good business but without the required three years audited accounts, there’s scant hope of getting finance to make the leap from SME to corporate. But the enterprise spirit is high and people are passionate about business. This is because there simply aren’t enough jobs to go round. The Economic Commission for Africa says eight million jobs a year are needed to lift Africa out of poverty. Therefore, for a young Ghanaian looking for work the options are limited to self-employment or utter deprivation and that’s no choice at all.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of our trip was that the SMEs we advised were neither small in size nor small in turnover. These were well established enterprises with employees in double figures and annual incomes in excess of many of our salaries. And therein lies the problem. While micro-finance and business support initiatives have helped a small proportion of Ghana’s not-so-poor, the very poor, women and youth are still not being reached. The government, for its part is engaging in joined up thinking. The Micro-Finance and Small Loans Centre was set up to map and co-ordinate the country’s small loans sector and a $50m fund for MSMEs will kick in soon. But there’s still much to do.

Our legacy in Ghana was the formation of two new associations to advocate for the interests of SMEs – one in Accra and the other in Kumasi. Ghana is an individualistic society but the SME owners realise the benefits of working in union to further their collective cause, which is ultimately increased access to finance. Though we vowed to stay in touch with our respective businesses there was a feeling of powerlessness because deep down we knew that the SMEs were right. While we can teach them all there is to know about bookkeeping, cash flow forecasts and marketing, without the funds to expand their fledgling enterprises will stagnate, if not collapse, taking with them their livelihoods and those of their many employees. Job creation is crucial to Ghana’s development, especially if it’s to achieve its Millennium Development Goals.

For most children of Africa living in the Diaspora the idea of returning home is a romantic dream, something that forever lingers at the back of our minds but rarely materialises. When it does become a reality, it is, like many romantic liaisons, often not as good as was imagined. On a personal level, the Mission allowed us to see that living and working in Africa is vastly different from holidaying there once or twice a year. However, rather than put me off it only hardened my resolve to continue championing the cause of social and economic regeneration in Africa. It also reaffirmed my belief that the only way to pull our continent out of poverty is through a thriving private sector, sustainable enterprise development and us as individuals, creating one job at a time.

§ For more information about the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) SEEDA (Supporting Entrepreneurs and Enterprise Development in Africa) programme log on to www.afford-uk.org

The end of an era.

Enuff said!

Kanya King, Queen of the MOBOs

It’s 7pm on a Friday night and while most of us are winding down for the weekend Kanya King, the dynamic founder of the Music Of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards has hours of work ahead of her. But hers is no average nine-to-five. In the weeks running up to the prestigious annual affair, the half-Irish, half-Ghanaian media mogul is juggling calls from the press, the public, artist liaison and show sponsors all at the same limited time. Yet after eleven years of organising the hottest event on the British music calendar King still has a palpable passion for her job.

King is a warm and personable character who is graceful under obvious pressure. As a businesswoman and role model she takes her responsibilities seriously and speaks freely about her steady rise up the corporate ladder. “We’re always looking for new ways to innovate and new categories to incorporate,” King says, in response to a question about the African Music award that’s running for the second year. “The African music category came at the right time. It was a big year for Africa in 2005 and African music is getting bigger every year so we have to respond to the mood of the market. Also, the MOBOs being the music of black origin started in Africa so it’s only right to have an African category.”

2005 was a landmark year for African music. MTV launched its regional satellite MTV Base Africa at the beginning of the year and later introduced the Best African Music Act award at the MTV Europe VMAs. This year’s contenders for the Best African Act MOBO award, which was also introduced in to the MOBO portfolio in 2005 include Nigerian artist Tony Tetuila and Ghanaian raglife star Batman. Asked whether she has a favourite in the fiercely contested category King shies away from any cultural nepotism, laughs and says diplomatically, “I couldn’t possibly say.” SA.

(© This is an edited extract from the forthcoming issue of What's On Ghana magazine, on sale mid-September 2006)

Still Doing the Right Thing: An Ode to Spike Lee

In 1986 Shelton "Spike" Lee burst on to the movie scene with his breakthrough film She's Gotta Have It, an intelligent and witty take on black female sexuality that was apt for its time. Lee's characteristic no-holds-barred portrayal of everyday black people heralded not only the start of a beautiful career but signalled the arrival of commercial black cinema. Since the late 1980's, Lee's body of work has comprised of a collection of thought-provoking and socially-conscious films that have chronicled the Black American experience and set the standard for others to follow. Do The Right Thing, Mo' Better Blues, Jungle Fever, Malcolm X, Get On The Bus and He Got Game, to name a few, are black cinematic classics and triumphs over the big studio, big budget system that is symptomatic of the American movie industry.

While Lee's greatest successes have come off the back of his big screen offerings, the Atlanta-born director has used the small screen to tell the stories of real people and rarely covered events to powerful effect.

The latest addition to Lee's illustrious filmography is an incisive examination of the US government's response to the Hurricane Katrina crisis of August 2005. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts was screened on US cable TV station HBO last week. The four-hour documentary, which is divided in to four one-hour parts has received rave reviews and once again shows that Spike Lee is willing to tread where others won't. The fact that Lee chose to make When the Levees Broke as a TV documentary rather than a big screen blockbuster speaks volumes. Lee is a man on a bigger mission. Whereas box office receipts would’ve earned him big bucks, TV has the advantage of bringing in bigger audiences and this account of the US government's abandonment of its own people is one that needed to be told to as wide an audience as possible. Such integrity and shrewdness have been the hallmark of Lee’s career.

Twenty years after his first major picture Lee remains at the forefront of critical cultural cinematography, a maverick. Though arguments abound as to the consistency of his work, his legacy as a social commentator and documenter of truth is without question. Twenty years on, while others are mellowing and falling by the wayside, it's comforting to know you can still rely on Spike Lee to do the right thing. SA.

Am I Not My Hair?

Essentially a religious symbol then a political statement and now a fashion trend, dreadlocks have experienced a revival on urban streets. From Brixton to Birmingham, ‘locking’ shops are springing up all over the country to cater for the growing demand of black men and women wanting to go natural. Is this a sign of a new black consciousness or a passing trend? Sylvia Arthur finds out.

Frances Hall always wanted to grow dreads. She liked the look of them and admired women like Lauryn Hill and India. Arie but was afraid of the impact having locs would have on her career. As an aspiring television news journalist she feared wearing dreads would play up to a stereotype and be detrimental to her progress. “I didn’t want to be seen as an angry black woman with a chip on my shoulder,” she says. “I wanted to be taken seriously.”

But having abandoned the extensions and chemical straighteners in favour of locs two years ago she says she’s never been happier and wishes she’d made the change years ago. “I feel liberated now,” Hall says. “The time was right. Everyone has locs now and it’s no big deal. It’s like wearing a hijab (Muslim headscarf). With locs everyone knows what you’re about.”

Like the Afro in the sixties, the connotations surrounding dreadlocks are deep-rooted and contentious. Though widely associated with the Rastafarian religion, as popularised by the late Reggae legend Bob Marley and iconic of a black consciousness movement, dreadlocks have become both a style of convenience and a symbol of self-pride for a generation of men and women who were born well after the cultural revolutions of the 60's and 70's.

Tosin Talabi, owner of Eftal Natural Hair in Tottenham, North London has seen a sharp rise in business over the last two years. When she opened her first shop in the predominantly black area of West Green Road in 2002 she was serving a small but loyal customer base. Now, having moved to bigger premises she’s averaging about three times as many clients as before as more people aspire to the versatility of dreadlocks.

“I don’t think wearing your hair in dreads has anything to do with your religious or political beliefs these days,” says Stacey Atkins, who’s been growing her hair in locs for the past ten years. “Britain is the most multicultural society in Europe so the struggle isn’t the same as in the 60’s and 70’s. Some people just like the easy upkeep and length. It’s as simple as that.”

Though dreadlocks have become more acceptable over the years some Rastafarians are angry at what they see as the secularisation of their religion.

This is an edited extract.
© Sylvia Arthur, 2004 & 2006.

Africa Plays On... And why you should be listening

Africa Plays On… was originally released to commemorate Africa’s participation in the 2006 World Cup but the songs on this disc will far outlive the Summer of ‘06. The album’s standout cuts are the opener Please Don’t Stop, a sublime collaboration between US R&B singer John Legend and Cameroonian bassist Richard Bona and the brilliantly epic 2000 Blacks Got To Be Free by Roy Ayers and Fela Kuti. Wahala Project’s Wahala, a groovy slice of Afro-funk also rates an honourable mention. The ubiquitous Akon makes an understated appearance on Amadou and Mariam’s Coulibaly while reggae fans can choose between Alpha Blondy’s rootsy Cocody Rock or Waldemar Bastos’ dancehall-tinged Pitanga Madurinha II. Man of the Moment K’naan shines on Ba Sissoko’s Silani and Osibisa show they haven’t lost any of their old sparkle on Watusi.

Africa Plays On… is an excellent introduction to the eclectic sounds and talents of a diverse continent. For neophytes it serves as a delectable taster of what Africa has to offer and perfectly enunciates how African music could compete in the international mainstream. Don’t worry if you don’t understand any of the many languages on this disc. The beauty of this compilation is that the truly universal rhythms transcend linguistic boundaries, taking the listener on a compelling journey through a musical soundscape.
A true aural delight! SA.

Shoot The Messenger: The Morning after the Night Before

I felt compelled against my better judgement to stay up last night and watch Shoot The Messenger (BBC2, 9pm, Wed, 30/08/06), having been told by many friends that this was definitely watercooler TV. It’s not good to go to bed with an angry mind and I knew that like Channel 4’s The Great British Black Invasion this had the potential to rile me. And indeed it did.

Shoot The Messenger was train crash TV, an awkward juxtaposition of every stereotype that currently exists about black boys and men. Every character was a conflicted tragedy and every tragic character was black. In the first thirty minutes it became clear that the sole objective of the film was simply to see how many stereotypes can be easily crammed in to 90 minutes. And there were enough of them to go round:

The uneducated black boy
The undisciplined black boy
Black self-loathing
Black-on-black crime
The black man in prison
The black man in a mental health institution
The homeless black man
The tormented black man

The storyline was inconsistent and weak and based on a series of unconnected and flimsy premises. The relationships betweens the main characters were undeveloped and unbelievable. Why would someone like Heather or indeed any sane intelligent black woman go out with someone like Joe, who openly declares that he hates black people? Why wasn’t she shocked when she heard his declaration? Why would Joe himself want to go out with a black woman? What well-to- do black parent would see their child out on the streets, especially parents like Joe’s?

From beginning to end Shoot The Messenger careered from one inexplicable extreme to the next and was littered with gaping holes that left many unanswered questions:

Why did Germal, the teenage tearaway, go mad? While Joe’s descent into mental illness was understandable, if not questionable, Germal’s stay in a mental health institution was simply a gratuitous twist in an already hackneyed plot that saw another black male character end up in prison for black-on-black murder. Are we forced to assume that insanity or incarceration or both are an inevitable consequence of being black?

Where were Germal’s parents? Though his mother was twice alluded to again the viewer is left to assume that he is yet another fatherless product of a single mother and a victim of fate.

Why did the only ‘normal’ character, Joe’s girlfriend Heather have to have issues? And a weave? This isn’t the ‘60’s. Not every black hairstyle is a political statement. But of course there had to be a deep-rooted reason why she preferred human hair out of a bag to the natural hair on her head. And then the came the sob story … “When I was younger I was lined up with my sisters and put to the back of the line because I was dark and ugly.”

Just when you thought Shoot The Messenger was about to redeem itself, when the lead character Joe implored his girlfriend Heather to, “Sort out the mess on your head and I’ll sort out the mess in mine” you were left disappointed when the film once again descended in to a hyper-critical introspective muddle. While the film’s opening line has been much maligned - “Everything bad that has ever happened to me has involved a black person” – by far the most shocking and damaging dialogue came when Joe concluded that perhaps the reason why black people are obsessed with slavery is because “we were actually good at it. We were productive then.” In an interview in this week’s New Nation newspaper the film’s writer Sharon Foster says black people can’t be afraid to tell the truth. What possible truth can be derived from that statement?

If there was anything good to be taken from this film it was that the directing was slick and the acting was brilliant but that was never in question.

In the end I realised that there was really nothing in this film to get angry about. Shoot The Messenger was supposed to be clever and ironic. Instead it was tacky and submissive. Last night I went to bed content in the knowledge that thankfully I personally don’t know any of the characters portrayed in the film (and no, I don’t live in some backwater in the country). While some may question the truth of this statement I’d prefer instead to question the kind of society that has us believing that every black woman under 30 is an unemployed single mother with four children by four different fathers who will either end up in prison or in the mental health system. And it was then that I realised that I must take this film for what it was – an exaggerated work of fiction. SA.