Archives For: November 2011
If you are a “...savvy, young professional who aspires to be...” just like the three young ladies (Brown Paper Dolls) who are the producers behind this series and have taken it upon themselves to "...shift paradigms, create innovative storylines and change perspectives...", then this one is for you!
I enjoy good TV but I am NOT a TV person. So I very rarely get hooked on anything. Last week while doing some research on Idris Elba, I found out about the Milk + Honey Series. He is the executive producer. 2 minutes in and I didn’t want it to end.
I am a Mary J Blige fan through and through. Always have been. I admire her and I think she is a fighter. She fought through heartbreak and found love again, fought all sorts of demons and came out the other end... a STRONG woman. When she opens her mouth, I feel every single note in my heart. She is raw, she is real. Her zeal is unmeasured and her live performances are very near perfect. I watched her talk about her younger self on Later With Jools Holland after which she performed a snippet of Need Someone ... FIERCELY BEAUTIFUL!
I have spent the afternoon listening to the LIFE Volume of the Mixtape that DJ No Name mixed for us. I carefully select songs that I listen to in rotation when working on each edition of Royaume. Music is one of my major inspirations. I am working on a few projects at the moment, some writing, others very exciting, so my earphones might as well be glued to my ears.
It is impossible for the Music of Africa to exist as one Genre. It is difficult to generalise African Music as throughout the continent, East, West, North and South; cultures, tastes and sounds differ. Kwaito, Zouk, Highlife, Juju, Afro Beat, Soukous; are all genres that would fall under the African Music umbrella. We all know that South Africa has a thriving and respected industry embedded in their history and aided by the likes of the late Miriam Makeba, Solomon Linda and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The beautiful thing about each of these artists is that they have their own sound. A sound that is well known and loved. A sound that told the world their history. And today, younger artists like Xhosa singer, Simphiwe Dana and Thandiswa Mazwai are the flag bearers for the industry. It is also a well known fact that one of the reasons why the South African Music Scene (which is mainly focused around Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and Bloemfontein) flourishes is that there is a strong spirit of community and artists, promoters and venues are all keen on working together to support each other by creating opportunities and developing talent.
www.salonestreet.co.uk has been created to share news and views from Diasporan Sierra Leoneans. The Salone Street Profiles being the key feature on the site. We honour the true gems of Sierra Leone with the hope that by putting all these people under one umbrella, it will become a lot easier for us to support our own.
Today is Remembrance Day. You can usually tell when the time is nigh as red Poppies begin to appear as everyone tries to do their bit in honour of fallen soldiers. Remembrance Day has been observed by all Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember all souls lost in the line of duty. The red poppy has become a symbol of Remembrance Day because of the poem "In Flanders Fields". These poppies were seen across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, and their colour is a perfect tribute to the blood spilled in the war.
It has been an old cliché for a number of years that in fact, black students must do better than their white peers simply because of the colour of their skin.
Was catching up with a long lost Pal the other day. Told her I hardly see her on Facebook these days. She told me she checks it regularly but never has anything witty to say neither does she have any exciting personal news to share taken.
There are many definitions of CHANGE, yet the one that strikes me the most, as that which we all tend to identify the term with, is to make different in some particular way. In regards to progress, I think that the most commonly accepted definition is a forward and onward movement. In life, there is only one thing that has been found to be constant, and that is CHANGE. Also in life, whether it is the beggar or the wealthy, the blacksmith or the potter, a nation or an individual, all aspire for progress in one way or another. If CHANGE, which in itself is always in motion, reflects mobility in something, the aspiration for progress, must in one way or another, benefit from the constant CHANGE in things related. In making something different in some particular way, if progress is to be attained, such difference must have a positive effect in the effort of moving forward.
So today is D'Day...
Its the Miss World Pageant...
Swadu Natasha Beckley who features in this issues VIP Interview has been representing Sierra Leone pretty well so far if you ask me.
Knowledge brings forth change.
A change from the crying past of suffering,
To a brighter future.
But only if we make a conscious decision,
To change how we see ourselves.
I was a fool for loving and trusting you.
I was a fool for believing we could make it through.
I was a fool for putting you before me.
Such a fool that I was too blind in love to see,
That you were creeping and cheating and taking your love elsewhere,
While telling me you were always going to be right there.
Like the saying goes; “Life is CHANGE, Growth is optional.”
If you make Growth and Progression your mission in life, you will probably spend the whole of it in search of understanding... trying to discover the real purpose for your presence on earth. It is likely that you have made many mistakes which you hope to learn from in order to ‘Mature’ as a person.
“I’m here in beautiful Sierra Leone, Africa. You wouldn’t believe the amount of rapes among women here, especially little girls. To find out more please check out my friend Nick Kristof at facebook.com/kristof . This is all something we need to be aware of. Please help me spread the word. Much love. xxx” ~ Eva Mendes
So last month was Black History Month. With Royaume being a magazine that aims to promote urban inspired positivity I made the gesture of sending people to SaLone Street, the side of Royaume that aims to share with the world the true gems of Sierra Leone. This was ideal as the theme for this year’s celebrations was ‘Africa Calling’. I could have made more of an effort but I did not. I don’t celebrate Black History Month, same way I don’t celebrate International Women’s Day. I also think it says a lot about how united we are as a people when the UK chooses October while the US chooses February. Though the context of being black in America and the UK may not be the same, the fact is parallels can be drawn and there is so much that we can learn from each other.
Love love love Idris Elba. I couldn't say the 'Love' enough times. I have always heard that he moonlights as a DJ but never knew he sang too. I have had this video on repeat since I came across it. The video is simple yet very alluring. It is so fascinating to see another side of this brilliant actor. Multi-talented is an understatement... In my eyes, he's got it ALL!
Tuned in to the news on an early August morning and jaw dropped in disbelief at the breaking news images from Tottenham, London. Grand Theft Auto had gone live as the streets were terrorised with anarchy. The mission appeared to be to loot and destroy. Many of the youth on the TV screen seemed disillusioned and hopeless. Watching them talk to news reporters, they appeared to have lost their sense of self, had little or no value for life including theirs, and absolutely no care in the world. The harrowing images of London burning were accompanied by analysis focussing on deprivation and disintegration. The average youth in Tottenham is angered and disengaged and some may say they have a right to be. With the largest unemployment figures in London, cutbacks and closures of public services including youth clubs, one can almost see why they feel they have no future, nothing to look forward to and nothing to hope for. So can a young man come out of such a situation and make something good of himself? Yes he can and Alim Kamara proves this.
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I came back from Sierra Leone last Christmas with a lot more to complain about than I had to be positive and upbeat about. This was frustrating for me as I had previously made a personal commitment as a proud and patriotic Sierra Leonean that I will never use Royaume as a media platform to condemn Sierra Leone.
I recently became a regular blogger on Tumblr and what was initially meant to be an experiment to increase the hits on our website turned into an experience that saw me befriending and communicating with total strangers.
Kojo “Easy” Damptey is a music producer, song writer, keyboardist, composer and poet who was born and raised in Accra, Ghana. At a young age of 17 he moved to Hamilton, Canada to pursue an education at McMaster University studying Chemical Engineering.
By Michael Omakobia
My Intro
I’m praying to the Lord, I’m born again,
I need the Messiah, the Lord of men,
He died for them.
Thanks to Mrs Beyonce Giselle Carter, the new catch phrase on every young woman’s lips at the moment is Who Runs The World (Girls)(WRTW(G)). Her first single from her new album 4 has instantaneously become the new anthem for female empowerment. With other singles like ‘Single Ladies’ from her previous album, Survivor and Independent Woman from her earlier days with Destiny’s Child, Mrs Carter is known for being one of the pioneers of the modern day Girl Power Movement through song and lyrics. Before her there was Aretha Franklin with R.E.S.P.E.C.T or Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves featuring Annie Lennox.