I know enough to know that I don’t know much…

.... and now for some pop culture... The phrase of this posting came from the mouth of the rapper Common, who perfomed on Russell Simmons' Def Poetry Jam on HBO tonight. Dang. Really. I don’t want to sound to earnest, but I love that phrase, cause its true. That said - Every time I watch Def Poetry Jam I am blown away. Forget that Bad Boys of Comedy rubbish that precedes it. al b Back’s poem, Super Negro was brilliant. Cant get the poem online (if you find it, let me know…), but trust me, it was good. And Preach’s Cotton was off the hook. And of course, there was the wonderful Staceyann Chinn, whose one woman play, BorderClash is still showing at the Culture Project in NYC,. Check it out if you can.

And one recommendation - Weekends at the DL with DL Hughley is GREAT! You may only know him as one of the ‘Kings of Comedy’ with Bernie Mac (another great comedian, who doesn’t get enough credit), but really, DL Hughley is funnier than I thought he would be (and I liked him before this). Let’s hope they don’t cancel the programme before it has a chance to develop. He needs to leave stand up comedy behind and deal with hosting, he is much funnier when he has to respond to things off the cuff. If you agree, I urge you all to check it out, spread the word and write to Comedy Central to let them know that the show has fans…

I think that is pretty much it for tonight. Other than that, check out the Laura Flanders Show tomorrow and Sunday, we have a fantastic set of shows for you this weekend. Lets talk John Roberts and lets talk about Trade Unions - are they working for you?. Tune in.. In the meantime, look out for some analysis on the modern punk movement – only on The GB, this week…

Daara J - How are African rappers changing the face of Hip Hop?

What is African Hip Hop and what does it sound like? Well for those of you who don’t know a good place to start would be by tuning into Daara J. And if you haven’t heard of Daara J yet, chances are you will. The Senegalese hip hop act, comprising three talented men who go by the names of Faada Freddy, Lord Aladji Man and N’Dango D have established themselves as leading proponents of Senegalese Rap and now it looks like they are taking the rest of the world by storm. Not only did Daara J play a major role in defining the contemporary sound of Sene-rap, Daara J won the BBC Radio 3 World Music Award for ‘Best African Act in 2003’ and has spent months at the top of the European world music charts.

In 2004, the band released its American debut album, ‘Boomerang’ (Wrasse Records, October 19, 2004) and most recently, the band performed at the ‘Africa Calling’ concert, which was held in Cornwall, England as part of the Live 8 live music program in July.

The title, ‘Boomerang’ refers to the Daara J’s take on the cultural and spiritual journey Hip Hop has made. As Faada Freddy says, Hip Hop was, ‘born in Africa, brought up in America, hip hop has come full circle’, by returning to Africa.

Likewise, the name Daara J means ‘school of life’. As Aladji Man says, ‘we want to give an education to our listeners’. True to their word, the album, ‘Boomerang’, steers clear of materialistic and macho subject matter that seems dominates much of the Hip Hop that marketers are convinced we all want to hear. Instead, the band tackles issues of Globalisation, the threatened environment, and spirituality.

And the critics love them. The British newspaper, ‘The Observer’ said that Daara J is ‘one of the premier vocal outfits of our time…’

The Global Blend talked to Faada Freddy of Daara J about the bands recent performance at the Live 8 affiliated ‘Africa Calling’ concert in Cornwall, England, his view of American Hip Hop.

What do you think about Faada Freddy's thoughts on unity, Nelson Mandela, Globalisation and the Live 8 concerts - and do you think Faada Freddy's assessment of American Hip Hop is fair? Listen, join the blog and let us know...

LISTEN:

1. Faada Freddy tells The GB about his love for Cornwall… and Nelson Mandela (1 min 33)
Music: ‘Bopp sa Bopp’ from the album ‘Boomerang’ by Daara J

2. Straight from Faada Freddy's mouth - Hi Life the father of Funk!! (1 min 14)
Music: 'You May Kiss Your Bride', by Bollie

3. Why is the content of Senegalese Hip Hop so different to that of US Hip Hop? (2 mins 10)

Music: 'Paris Dakar', from the album 'Boomerang', by Daara J

4. Are we really that interconnected? (3 mins 38)

Music: 'Exodus', from the album 'Boomerang', by Daara J

5. What the African Diaspora needs to know… (1 min 40)
Music: 'Boomerang', from the album, ‘Boomerang’ by Daara J

Tune in to the new 'Wake Up Call' with former FSRN host, Deepa Fernandes

"Wake Up Call," which was first broadcast in 1992, is New York City’s longest running independent drive-time radio show. The show’s history, however, has been a bumpy one. First hosted by Bernard White and Amy Goodman (now known for her renowned show, "Democracy Now!"), "Wake Up Call" was described once as "one of WBAI's most important and successful shows" in the 1990s.

But after eight years, Goodman and White were fired after a controversial internal battle at the Pacifica Networks flagship station, WBAI, that resulted in what is now known as the Christmas Coup of 2000. Since then, "Wake Up Call" has struggled to regain the status it had in the 1990s.

But these struggles may be over. The (mainly older, male) management of WBAI, wanting to increase listeners and membership numbers as quickly as possible, made the bold -- and revolutionary -- move of selecting Deepa Fernandes, a young South Asian female journalist who grew up in Australia, to be the new host of its morning flagship show.

This selection made a few people nervous… Some were not convinced that she would be popular enough to attract new listeners to the show -- and in turn new members to the station. Likewise, there were people who were opposed to the idea of having a young foreign-sounding woman hosting "Wake Up Call."

But those people needn’t have worried. There were plenty of listeners who were excited by Fernandes’ return to the WBAI airwaves. Upon hearing that Fernandes was returning to WBAI, one United Nations employee said to me, "That is fantastic, I will write a check to the station right now!" Fans from all over the world (including Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, Australia and India) wrote good luck messages to Deepa. One fan in Italy said, "Don't forget you have listeners all over the world. I listen from Italy on the Internet and love your show!"

And since the relaunch, listeners new and old have been riveted to the new "Wake Up Call." The show is quickly establishing itself as one that will provide an energetic and heady cocktail of socially progressive national news, as well as an insider’s look into what is happening in New York City.

In the first week, "Wake Up Call" examined the work of the legendary Guyanese historian Walter Rodney; had a discussion about the Guantanamo Bay abuses with an advocate working closely with former detainees; and gave an insiders' report from the United Nations. To commemorate the New York City Puerto Rican Day parade, Fernandes interviewed the first Queen of the parade, Dilsia Pagan.

According to Deepa, mixing it up is all part of the fun. "My goal is to make people who are switching stations stop -- our frequency is in the middle of the dial and we have to take advantage of that fact!"

Fernandes and the "Wake Up Call" producers say they want to contribute to the social change movement by doing a few, very ambitious things. First, they want "Wake Up Call" to reflect the realities of -- and build a bridge between -- the diverse communities of New York City. Fernandes explains, "When we looked at Walter Rodney’s legacy, we made sure that we looked at the context in which he was writing. We tried to highlight the relationship between his work and the work of contemporary revolutionaries -- and compare the challenges he faced during his time with the challenges his modern counterparts face today.”

"Wake Up Call" also aims to change the public perception of community media. For years, community radio has been associated, sometimes unfairly, with low production values. This, Fernandes says, has played a major role in repelling people who might have wanted to hear new and progressive ideas. She points out that because the MTV generation has been brought up on slick presentation values, the only way to get more people to see the value of community radio is to improve its approach to radio production. By doing this, she believes community radio will eventually become more effective in helping those people who have been shut out of the media landscape find a platform on which they can express their views and experiences.

In addition, the new "Wake Up Call" wants to make its mark as one of the few shows that really cuts through the media news spin by interviewing and talking to the people who are directly affected by the news. Fernandes believes that most news shows focus on the big players and get caught up in politics.

"Look at the issue of African debt. Who is really looking at the economics of all of this? Is anyone talking to who is really affected? Instead, most media outlets are focusing on the relationship between Bush and Blair."

"Wake Up Call," on the other hand, addressed the issue of Western aid to Africa by pointing out that Africa has "paid its debt" through the money it has lost from free trade policies that have strangled the continent. The show also examined the hypocrisy of the United States and the United Kingdom, who on one hand claim to want to help corruption in Africa, but instead are profiting through the sale of arms to the very governments they accuse of defrauding the people of Africa.

So far, Fernandes’ fearless approach to radio seems to have worked. Her ability to look at politics and discuss popular culture from a progressive viewpoint has, naturally, stirred some debate between listeners and activists. Her recent treatment of the Michael Jackson court case, for example, attracted some criticism, but as one listener put it, "If 'Wake Up Call' talked about Michael Jackson today in any sort of interesting way that had relevance to a larger progressive project, then good for them…"

On the whole, Fernandes’ approach to progressive radio has won her -- and "Wake Up Call" -- new fans. As one listener raves, “The improvement is immediate. I hope WBAI continues to upgrade their programs, particularly by bringing in younger people who are actually excited to be on the air."

It looks like Deepa Fernandes might have sparked the fire in the belly of progressive radio.

You can listen to Wake Up Call at 99.3 FM or check out Wake Up Call online at: http://wakeupcallradio.blogspot.com/

This piece, written by Chris Nsiah-Buadi, was originally published in Pop and Politics in July.

STAY TUNED!! Listen to Faada Freddy from the Senegalese Hip Hop Group, Daara J tell The Global Blend, what he thinks about US Hip Hop, why he thinks Ghanaian Hi Life is so influential - and why he loves Corrnwall, England so much!

London Calling...

What an emotional roller coaster the past few days have been. One day the people of London were celebrating the news that our city will host the Olympic Games in 2012, then the next day the city is thrown into chaos, as four bombs explode during the rush hour.

But in some ways, a lot of us were not surprised. Prime Minister Tony Blair is George Bush’s closest ally on the issue of Iraq – Italy and Spain had been attacked; in the back of our minds were asking ourselves ‘when’, not ‘if’ something like this would happen in the UK.

What has been really interesting is watching how the people of London – and Britain – have reacted to the bombings, through the eyes of non-British media. Those of us outside the country saw no mass hysteria. Just images of visibly shaken people trying to hold themselves together, so that they could minimize the damage and help others who were worse off than they were.

It really was awe inspiring to see how people who were clearly shaken and devastated carry on with the business of the day. They refused to be terrorized.

Watching London’s reaction to the bombing through the eyes of the non-British media taught me the real meaning of this British ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ (yes, those of us whose ancestors come from other continents have it too!). It’s ironic that I joked about ‘British reserve’ last week, because now I feel like I didn’t have a clue about what it really meant then! What a difference 24 hours makes, eh?! I realize now that the ‘Stiff Upper Lip’ is a quiet determination to ‘get on with it’ even when everything is falling apart. It was demonstrated to the fullest last week – even though everyone in Britain thinks the Stiff Upper Lip’ is a thing of the past!

After spending a few years in the US – and having become accustomed to seeing people who are happy to express their feelings in public, I was quite surprised by the reactions of my friends and family when I spoke to them on Thursday. Granted, they were the lucky ones - my dad decided not to go to a morning meeting in near Parliament and my sister and brother-in-law spent most of the day trying to get one of their friends out of central London – his office was really close to where one of the bombs went off. There were so many stories like these. But, with each phonecall I got the same message; while people were clearly shaken, no one wanted any fuss, they just wanted to get on with it – and wanted to be there for each other and were determined not to let this get to them.

That said, we are yet to see how the British public will react once the dust has settled figuratively and literally, but I think that people won’t forget about the bigger picture. The American press has suggested that there have been calls to tighten anti terror laws and have suggested that Britain’s attitude to immigration meant made London city vulnerable to attack. I don’t think those calls are particularly loud. The majority of Londoners and British people understand the political significance of Thursday’s actions. Just a few months ago, Tony Blair paid the price for his involvement in Iraq in the General Election. He won the, but his huge majority was slashed. The opposition by British public to the invasion of Iraq has been unwavering and Thursday’s bombings wont scare people in to changing their minds. Thursday’s bombings will give more credence to the belief that the world has not been any safer since March 2002. And people will feel that the public paid the price for our nations involvement in the so-called War on Terror.

But, politics and observations aside, I am just thinking of those families who were affected by the bomb and I hope that my city bounces back – soon.

‘… with what’s going on in Africa…?’ Did the public get the real message of Live 8?

This is what ‘Shana’ a young lady, who went to the Philadelphia Live 8 concert with her friends told me:

‘[the concert] reminds us of what’s going on over there [Africa] even though we are not there… Everyone needs to help as much as they can…I’m gonna tell all my friends who didn’t show what this was all about. And it wasn’t just about seeing everybody perform… It was about spreading awareness of AIDS.’

Hmmm. And this is what Bob Geldof said the Live 8 message was:

'These concerts are the start point for The Long Walk To Justice, the one way we can all make our voices heard in unison…. The G8 leaders have it within their power to alter history. They will only have the will to do so if tens of thousands of people show them that enough is enough…By doubling aid, fully canceling debt, and delivering trade justice for Africa, the G8 could change the future for millions of men, women and children.'

So, just how successful was Live 8 in getting its message across? At first, I was not convinced. After hours of listening to pop stars and actors repeat the same talking points and say the phrase, ‘ and with all the stuff that’s going on in Africa’, I was rapidly losing the will to live and pretty much ready to scream. But I didn’t scream. I guess that was my British reserve kicking in. Then, something quite amazing happened. Literally, just a few minutes after my conversation with Shana and her friends, Kanye West walked on the stage and told the crowd this:

‘We’re here for the thousands of people who’re dying every day. Some disease we can’t cure, that man made a long time ago and placed in the African communities. Some diseases can be cured, if we have better healthcare, better schools, better education, a better life. And that’s what we’re here for – to beg the politicians to release the debt over those whose lives are not as good as those politicians who drive home in they’re Bently’s every night….while thousands of African’s [are] dying…’

Granted, there was a lot of irony to West’s comments, but still, he called it like it was! There was hope!

West’s comments were quickly followed by one of the more surreal moments of the day – for me, anyway. Above Destiny’s Child (who were performing ‘Say My Name’), the names of the millions of people who had signed on the ‘Live 8 List’ (which will be given to G8 this week) appeared on a large screen. I was blown away. All of those names – maybe people do care and people do get it! My cynicism started to melt away immediately.

Then, just a few hours later, Jamie Drummond, the Executive Director of DATA the group behind Live 8, told the press corps that Live 8 was about economic justice, not just aid. He even acknowledged the roots of this poverty – colonialism. I nearly fell of my seat! He was the first person that day to identify the elephant in the room!!

I started to feel, right then, that Live 8 organisers and a lot of their participants did understand what the message of Live 8 was, and were making a concerted effort to tell the world. But the media wasn’t having any of it. Certainly, from what I observed, the press corps were far more interested with getting a picture of Anna Nicole Smith shaking her tatas than hearing what Dr Benjamin Chavis, Jamie Drummond, or any number of the eloquent speakers who came on stage had to say about debt justice.

So, I took the opportunity to speak to some more people. I was over Shana and her friends; I figured that there would be others who actually got what Jully 2 was really about. But I still needed convincing that the organisers of Live 8 had succeed in galvanising a credible world-wide debt justice movement of the people, by the people…

Rather than ask the usual suspects, I decided to ask two Africans, afterall, the event was supposed to be ‘all about Africa’, right? I talked to the academy award nominated actor and star of Amistad, Djimon Hounsou from Benin and Iyeshatu Manga (from Sierra Leone) who works with DATA and the ONE campaign. My conversations with them were very interesting to say the least (you can listen to them online, details below). While Hounsou was convinced that the use of celebrity voices had helped create passion amongst the general public around the issue of poverty – at least in the US. He said:

‘ (the concert is) certainly getting people to listen and to pay attention. If anything, that’s really what the key is…. If we get America to have a strong voice on the issues of extreme poverty in Africa, I think [there] will be a tremendous change.’, he felt that the West had a long way to go in understanding what Africa was really about.’

Iyeshatu Manga was really hopeful about what the concerts had achieved. She believed that we were witnessing the birth of a strong global movement – and that Live 8 played an integral role in making this happen:

‘When they did the Live Aid concert 20 years ago, Bob Geldof an the organizers were asking for money. In this day and age, it doesn’t take that little money to make a change. In this day and age, five million, 10 million people are saying enough is enough. Poverty is a man-made disease; it’s unnecessary, and everybody is rallying…around organizations that have come together to eliminate poverty’

I was almost convinced by her. Certainly, her enthusiasm and hope was infectious. And after having a few days to reflect on Live 8 and its aftermath, I am starting to believe that the message is slowly being heard by the public. People involved in this movement know that this is a long road (they called the campaign the ‘Long Walk to Justice’, for goodness sake) and they are ready to do what they need to do to get justice. Likewise, I think they know that they have a lot of work to do to strengthen the movement within, by a) talking to African’s more – and b) examining their relationship with politicians – and each other (read ‘When wearing White is Not Chic and Collaboration Not Cool’, published by Foreign Policy in Focus). But, they know the size of their task and are prepared to dig in to make the rest of us listen.

Maybe the world’s politicians will hear the demands of those of us who say ‘enough is enough’. If not this week, certainly soon…

Listen to The gb interview with Djimon Hounsou at Live 8 here

Listen to The gb interview with Iyeshatu Manga at Live 8 here

ps - I tried to hold it down in front of my American colleagues when I heard the news that London would host the Olympics in 2012 today.

But, they knew how excited I was ( and still am). I know they knew..

(hee hee!!)

until next week...