Sounds and moves of Urban Africa

Lately all I ever listen to is contemporary/urban African music (I am not sure if there is definite name for it) from different countries such Nigeria, South Africa, Zambia etc.  I have discovered so many different African musicians coming out from Africa. I realised there is so much unknown talent in Africa and unfortunately due to a lack of resources and opportunities most these musicians go unnoticed. I particularly enjoy music from Nigeria and South African Hip Hop; I could dance all night long listening to some of those jams.

These guys are cool, modern, hip, young and absolutely talented. African music has changed over the past few years, just as much as the continent itself. Most of these songs often include enchanting dance moves such as the azonto dance, Often these dance moves help popularise the songs. The Azonto dance from Ghana for instance has gone viral with millions of people from around the world showcasing their own versions of the azonto dance.  Look at the video below of dancers doing an Azonto dance and has gotten more than 12 million views.

I don’t often appreciate African music that mimics the Western culture, I favour African musicians that embrace their own culture and produce contemporary urban sounds such D’Banj for instance. He appears to be true to his Nigerian roots of music, but has found a voice and sound that appeals to most Africans and has even gone International. I think everybody knows his song “Oliver Twist”.  Check out his video from YouTube.

Another artist that I love from Nigeria is Flavour, well I have not heard anything from him lately but his single Nwa baby was probably 2011/2012 biggest hit in Africa. I don’t know anybody who does not love this song, it appealed to both young and old. It was definitely a party favourite, it was such a hit I still enjoy it till today, it’s so sweet and sultry.

who is African?

Who is African exactly? It can be quiet confusing for most people and difficult to define. Gone are the days when being African meant being black. The new face of Africa has gradually changed over the past few years, well, at least in my eyes anyway. Africa is no longer just considered a black nation but a hub of a variety of cultures and colours. As discovered by evolutionist, Africa is the foundation of the human species and where the human journey all began, so I guess you could say everybody can claim to be African.

However, for the purpose of this discussion I am referring to an African citizen or rather, one that was born and raised in Africa. I find that in most cases the African diversity in culture is still ignored and taken for granted. I read somewhere recently that the term Bantu refers to all human beings irrespective of colour, black, red, yellow, white are all inclusive of the Bantu term. I guess then this means a true African in an African perspective is inclusive of all cultures and beliefs found in Africa.

This is a little collage that I did to depict the diversity of Africa and to display its unique complexities. Africa is a beautiful continent and  inclusive of all colours.

In my opinion Africa has a lot of different faces, and skin colour alone is not enough to determine anybody’s African identity. There is definitely more to being African than how much melanin you have in your skin, and not forgetting the fact that there is more human genetic diversity in Africa than anywhere else on the planet. I have noticed that most Africans have different understanding on what being an African entails, for some its certain features such as having big bums and thighs (bootylicious)  makes you a real African.

What do you guys think? Who is an African in your opinion?

African Hair as an art

I love hair, natural hair in particular, and it might not come as a surprise for those who personally know me, to be posting about the dynamics of African hair. There is so much that can be done with African hair and a lot of it is unappreciated. There has been a recent fascination about African textured hair and there appears to be a growing appreciation for it. For some Africans a choice of hairstyle can be deemed as a political statement, perhaps a form of self-expression and identity.  For me personally I chose to maintain natural hair because I think it’s beautiful, unique and versatile. I just personally think there is so much love about African hair. It’s an art in itself.

This post is inspired by a book called Hair in African Art and Culture. It explores artwork ranging from combs, hairpins, beads, headrests to some contemporary African barbershop signs that aim at portraying the implications of hair in various African cultures. In most African cultures hair can be associated with social status, religious belief, a symbol of authority, a traditional aesthetic element or even for many like me a statement of contemporary style. If you think you’ve got funk and your hairstyles are cool, take a look at some of these intricate traditional hairstyles. Pure talent, I don’t know how they even began to get their hair looking like that.  Some of them are a bit too bold for me but I must say they are impressive nonetheless.

I thought I should include some of today’s contemporary African hairstyles to see how today’s youth have translated these traditional hairstyles to a more modern/ contemporary style to further express themselves and explore their identity.

Below are some of my personal favourite African inspired hairstyles that I would love to rock one of these days. I just need the courage, time and place to wear them.  I think they are gorgeous.

Chimamanda Adichie

   

I recently discovered this phenomenal lady and I was in awe of her elegance, beauty and intellect. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an award winning Igbo writer from Nigeria. She is such an inspiration for many young upcoming African writers. I have personally not read her books yet but I was intrigued by her sense of style and her bold endearing hairstyles. Her books largely aim to challenge perceptions of Africa, the importance of telling women’s stories and life in Africa as well as Africans living in diaspora.

One of her most acclaimed books is, “The Thing around Your Neck”, it is a collection of stories about how Nigerians struggle to cope with the corruption in her country and about life as a Nigerian immigrant.

Take a look at her a 2009 TED Talk: The Danger of a Single Story. Chimamanda Adichie expresses the story of how she eventually found her authentic voice as a writer and warns that we must be cautious with listening to only a single story about another person or country, as we will miss the risk of misunderstanding. In her own words: “The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.”

After watching this video it made think of how I personally perceive Africa and which side of the story have I come to believe about Africa: that of the Western or one of an African. Having lived in both continents, Africa and Europe I realised I too was a victim of having believed that Africa is primitive and has far less to offer than most continents. Since this realisation I have been in pursuit of changing that perception and made it my mission to further understand my continent, from other Africans as well through my own experiences.

 

Welcome to my world!

Yellow!
I am the African cool hunter, well, at least I aspire to be a professional cool hunter one these days, and it’s a job I would love to be paid to do. So finally, I got the courage to let go of my insecurities and took a leap of faith to start a blog of own. Why a blog? Well, I have so much that I want to share and say about Africa. I think there have been so many misconceptions and misunderstandings about Africa and would like to contribute to changing that.

Aim
I aim at putting an end to Afro-pessimism and displaying my empathy for and understanding the complex African socio-cultural issues by holding up positive, creative and inspirational African role models. I will be posting about anything from, African photography, colour trends, music, entrepreneurs, fashion and design to art and elements of contemporary African culture.

What is a Cool hunter?
So you are probably wondering what is an African cool hunter, Well, I will begin by first explaining what a cool hunter is and does. According to Wikipedia the term Coolhunting was coined in the early 1990s referring to a new breed of marketing professionals, called coolhunters. It is their job to make observations and predictions in changes of new or existing cultural trends. Basically that’s what I intend to do but only in an African context.

I am secretly hoping that this blog gets enough attention from people so that maybe, “just maybe” one day I might actually be recruited to cool hunt around Africa. OH! The joy in that! Getting Goosebumps all over my body just thinking about it.

First and foremost my creative writing maybe a little rough on the edges but please bear with me as I am working on improving my blog writing skills, I just couldn’t resist plunging into the world of blogging. I have so much to share!

I am so excited about this, to finally start a blog of my own and I hope you find it insightful and sympathise with my endearing passion for Africa!

Viva Africa!