Thanks so much for all the positive reactions to my Part 1 of my HIFA experience and to everyone whose been a follower of the blog, as well as the new followers! Here’s part 2 which is the last chapter of the story
At Zi Fm HQ
MEETING SHINGAI SHONIWA: The next day was day 2 of HIFA. We woke up bright and early to make it to the radio station where Lo works called Zi Fm which is a privately owned station. Lo hosts a show called ‘Off The Wall’ on the weekends with her co-host Danny who I got to meet later on that night and is now super famous for giving Shingai Shoniwa a shoulder ride during her Hifa performance.
Lo + The Noisettes
Speaking of Shingai, Lo interviewed her and Dan and their new Noisettes band member for her radio show. I’ve loved Shingai’s style since forever, so I tried to act nonchalant when she came in. She was super nice and said hello to everyone. I got to be in the studio with Lo while she interviewed her, and the Noisettes did a private recording, which was great, because I wasn’t going to be able to see their show because I was leaving the next day.
Hanging with Shingai
I got to take a picture with Shingai and she said she loved my shirt while I complimented her on her turban.
MORE SHOOTING:
H-Town
We got to the HIFA grounds and went down to the HIVOS poetry café where ‘Trash Queens’ fashion show was happening. Designers recyclable materials to create outfits. We spent the rest of the day shooting street style, and our intro’s for ‘The Fest Guru’s’, then we checked out my clients Barefeet Theatre’s performance of ‘Tujuka Must Die’, I was a guest on Lo’s radio show. We headed home to eat and freshen up and get ready for Tehn Diamond and Jnr Brown’s show.
Me and Miss Earth Zimbabwe
TEHN DIAMOND’S SHOW
Tehn Diamond
While Lo had to go and do more hifa stuff for her radio show, she left me in the company of some of her Zim friends as we waited for Tehn’s show to begin at the Coca Cola stage. I met lots of creative people; mostly artists and I felt like I was at one of C1rca 1964 x Zed Creatives brunches cuz it was all super creative people on one table and I asked them about the creative industry in Zim and spoke about the one we have in Zambia.
Lo came to get me so I could interview Tehn and Take Fizzo the dj for ‘The Fest Guru’s Show’. I was a bit nervous about doing the interview alone, but Tehn and Fizzo were really hyped, so I fed off their energy and we got the interview done a few minutes before they had to go on stage.
The show itself was amazing. I keep reliving the show in my head. It was amazing to see that everyone in the audience (well except me) knew the words to every song that Tehn did. I’ve never seen anything like that at a concert in Zambia.
VIP TINGS
After the show ended, we chilled at the Green Room which was a VIP only tent for artists. Don’t ask how we got in J I chatted to Larry of threemenonaboat about the creative industry, with Adam from Barefeet, and with Farai. We ended the night at an outdoor dj party which was fun and cold!
ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END…
The next day, bright and early, Lo and her mum dropped me off at the bus station and I headed home to Lusaka. All in all, it was a quick but fun trip and I’m already talking to Lo about when next I’m going to Zim which is August for the Shako Festival. I’ll also make a stop in Bulawayo and Lo plus the ‘Fest Guru’s team’ should be in Zambia for the Livingstone Cultural and Arts festival. *Fingers crossed!
Thanks to Lo, her family, and everyone who made my Harare trip amazing!
A few weeks ago, i was mindlessly flipping channels to see what I could watch and ‘Parent Trap’ was on, so that’s the inspiration behind this post.
Here’s a spotlight on 11 African sets of twins in the African fashion and entertainment industry. Enjoy
1. Peter and Paul Okoye(P Square)
If you’re an African music lover, you’ve heard and seen videos of Nigerian super star duo P Square. I first heard their songs on Channel O years ago and since them,they’ve gone on to headline sold out concerts, appear on BET and in future, they will perform at my wedding. Seriously. Check out this video where they mention how they differ ie one is more laid back and chilled out etc.
2. Fola and Fela of Alex Fozi
Nigerian born twins Fela and Fola are a perfect example of turning a hobby into a business. After moving to Canada for university, they launched a briefcase line called Alex Folzi which has eye popping colors perfect for the spring. They collaborated with Evelyn Ojo last year to launch a t shirt line, and they are dapper dudes. (Based on their individual facebook accounts which I may or may not stalk occasionally.lol) I need that royal blue briefcase in my life pronto! I can’t wait to see what they come up with next and they are setting the bar high for the African luggage market, which I think more designers need to consider entering.
3. Danielle and Chantelle Piper of Kastle Designs/ Treasure Chest
Danielle and Chantelle are a design duo who have shown at various fashion weeks, including Arise Magazine Fashion Week 2011 and 2012. I believe they are from Ghana. I like some of their outfits, but I always wonder why they wear the same clothes all the time? I’m not a twin, but if I was, I highly doubt I would do that past 5, but to each his own I guess. They are also occasional models on the ‘Today Show’. The video below is of their recent Arise show collection.
4. The Lidaju Sisters.
I love Fader Magazine because it has led me to discover such gems like Alec Lomami (shameless plug) and the Lidaju sisters. Taiwo and Kehinde were a popular music duo in Nigeria between the 1960s to 1980s. They mixed jazz, afrobeat, reaggae and other sounds successfully.One of their highlights is performing at the 1972 Munich Olympic games. The New York Times described them as “smiling free spirits” who mixed “sisterly banter and flirtatiousness”. They have since retired and now live in Harlem.Fader Mag captured their style in an interview which you can see below.
5. Christian Rich
Initially, I thought it was an interesting coincidence that the boys of Christian Rich happen to be named Taiwo and Kehinde as well, but I remembered reading something about Nigerian twins and upon further research, I discovered that Taiwo and Kehinde are typically given to Yoruba twins.The Yourba tribe of Nigeria have the highest twin birth rate in the WORLD! “The first of the twins to be born is traditionally named Taiyewo or Tayewo, which means ‘the first to taste the world’, this is often shortened to Taiwo, Taiye or Taye. Kehinde, or Kehin for short, is the name of the last born twin”. (Good old Wikipedia)
The 29 year olds are a song writing, dj, artist duo based in NYC. I first heard about them via Arise mag. They are under Pharrel’s company and have worked with him, Lil Kim, Chris Brown, Diddy, the Noisettes and more. They released their first EP ‘The Decadence 2′ last summer. Here’s one of their tracks ‘Famous Girl’.
6. BOWBI LADAWA + Sister
I’ve been doing quite a bit of research on Congo DR in the 1970s and while I was refreshing my knowledge on Mobutu Sese Seko who succeeded Patrice Lumumba, I read about his wife Bowbi Ladawa. She was considered one of the most fashionable first ladies of Africa at the time and she had ‘expensive’ taste , spending lots of money on shopping trips to Europe. Ladawa had a twin sister who Mobutu allegedly took as a mistress. DRAMA!
7. Cassi and Nicki
I first saw pictures of Cassi as a muse and model for Gold Coast Trading clothing company, then I saw her participating in an artist talk at the Dandy Lion exhibit curated by Shantrelle P Lewis. Nicki is a tea consultant and charity organizer (I’d love to be a coffee and tea consultant too!!). They are from Mozambique but I would call them global Afropolitans based on the fact that they seem to always be travelling and have lived in Kenya, Dominican Republic and many more places. Check this video via Madewell where they talk about their personal style.
8. OKUNOREN TWINS
Seems like twins are into fashion, huh? According to an interview on the blog Fari Boudoir, Taiwo and his brother Kehinde started selling t shirts from retail outlets to friends in university at 19, then decided to start their own brand. Many years later, they have a vast clientele including Naeto C, D banj and more. They showed at Arise 2011 and 2012. A video is below and pictures from the show can be accessed via Terrence Sambo’s One Nigerian Boy.
9. MATAANO
Somalian sisters Ayaan and Idyl have a line i’m sure every African fashion obsessed person has heard about. After they appeared on Oprah, they gained a huge following and have gone on to show at New York Fashion Week and Arise Magazine Fashion Week. I had the pleasure of meeting them at Helen Jennings book launch for ‘New African Fashion’ and they were super sweet. They insisted that Hannah Pool from Essence take a pic of me which ended up on the street style site. Check out their AMFW collection below for 2011.
10.NYANE AND MPHO
These 17 year old bloggers, models and designers have style for dayzz! I featured their blog in my Afropunk’d post and my friend Linda reminded me they are twins, so I had to spotlight them again. Very fashion forward ladies they are,innit?
11.EKU EDEWOR AND KESSIANA EDEWOR
If you watch Studio 53 extra (the new version), you may recognize Eku Georgie Edewor as a host. She’s also a model as she walked in the 2011 and 2012 Arise Mag fashion weeks, and on further digging, I see that she was a contestant on Britain’s Next Top Model. So Im guessing she’s half British? She has a twin sister called Kessiana who I wasn’t able to find much gist about. Thanks to Ese of Allen and Fifth for the tip!
Know of any interesting twins you’d like to share?
The infamous D banj concert that Enyinne had bought tickets for way back in December finally took place last Sunday (February 19) and it was a fun night. (Even though we skipped for the after party to work so we could work on launching H1960 which is live now). After the D banj show, I reminisced on all the other fun concerts i’ve been to in the past years and I’ve decided to share pics/videos and hopefully introduce you to some artists you may have never heard of.
WEST AFRICAN FLOW
NAIJA BOYS : D Banj + P Square
*Pic is via Mike Vj One.
D Banj
Mr Kokomaster himself needs no introduction. Well maybe to US audiences who seem to be finally paying attention to him, as evidenced by the fact that last week’s concert was featured on the New York Times. Or maybe it’s the fact that he may be Africa’s biggest pop star. (According to Africa is A Country site). His show really was entertaining (*cue ‘The Entertainer’)and his dancers were wow! I may need some Kokolette lessons. Speaking of ‘Kokolettes’, the ladies of the audience came out dressed to impress. Afripop mag captured the street style. We spy Enyinne there somewhere in a JBL waistcoat. Marie took a pic with him as shown above. More pics are available via Vicki Remoe’s sweet salone site. The video below is also from her site.
P Square
P Square have managed to sell out huge venues wherever they perform, as they did in 2009 summer when I saw them live in Queens, NY. I sang along to every single song, they had the audience dancing and girls literally passing out. They have been on the Wendy Williams show(where she asked really dumb questions) and have a brand new video with Akon called ‘Chop My Money’ that dropped in the wee hours.
Ghana in the House.
Blitz the Ambassador
Blitz is another favorite of mine. He reps for Ghana and him and his band are awesome. I’ve seen him perform about two or three times. I love the fact that he’s into film as well, having produced a documentary called ‘Native Sun’. He stated”We have to create other things that will make our music noticed. It’s very difficult to get anyone to buy music today, so it’s more about creating worlds, so if you create a world that other people are willing to exist in, and they’re willing to support it, and willing to spread the word about it, so we are making a short film that’s gonna add another element to the album, and I’m really excited about it.” Well said!!
My favorite song of his is ‘Dear Africa’ with ‘Les Nubians’
EAST AFRICAN FLAVOR: Iyadede (Rwanda) + K’NAAN (Somalia) Just A Band (Kenya)
Iyadede
*Photo Credit: Lafotographeuse aka. Amanda Adams – Louis
Last summer, Society Hae, Caribbean Cultural Center Diasporan Institute and Lincoln Center Out of Doors organized a concert called ‘This is Africa’ featuring my girl Iyadede who looks and sounds amazing everytime i see her. My favorite song from her set was ‘The Love’. I got to see a sneak peak of the video and I love it. While we’re waiting for it to officially drop, check out this video with Theolophilus London below which we released first on Radio Afro. (cuz we love our exclusives) and check Miss Dede out on MTV Iggy. She makes some awesome jewelry too. And has a blog and site.
K’ NAAN
I have to tell this story. A few months before the world cup in South Africa (summer 2010), I had been telling my friends Tina, Tobi and Ice to get familiar with K’naan. I played TIA (This is Africa) for them in the fall of 2009 and they were like “turn it off, we dont like it). Fastforward to ‘Waving Flag’ and then they were like “he’s cool”. Duh, I had BEEN SAYING THAT. Anyway, I saw him live in October 2010 at Webster hall and he was AMAZING as I knew he would be (he’s one of my hubbies). The pics are by my sis KK( who also does those amazing nails I blogged about). He also has a new video out with Nas which is below.
Just A Band.
Describing Kenya’s ‘Just A Band‘ in one word is hard. So I’ll let the video speak for itself. I saw them live in NYC at Drom in the summer of 2011 and felt like the performance was too short. I hope to see them again this year a I know they have some dates lined up. I need an interview too for Radio Afro. Let’s see what I can do.
SOUTHERN AFRICAN SWAG : Spoek Mathambo (South Africa) + Freshly Ground (South Africa) + Fally Ipupa (Congo DR) + Black Coffee (South Africa)+ Awilo (Congo DR) + Malaika (South Africa)
PS: I’m Southern African so hence the overload
Spoek Mathambo
Spoek Mathambo who reps for South Africa also performed and I got to meet him briefly that day via Sarah Williams. I died and went to heaven when he followed me on twitter. Spoek has been featured in the fader, Arise, just scored the cover of a dope mag as shown in the pic above, has a new video trailer out for his album as seen below(which drops March 12 or 13) is in the running for Best Video at MK Awards for ‘Control’ which you can vote for here, did a mixtape for Okay Africa and gave a Ted Talk which popped up on youtube recently. Plus,he has a slew of shows in the US from March/April. He’s been described as being part of a new wave of sonic explorers from Africa as well. That’s what you call a working man!
Freshly Ground
“Doo bee doo, be doo, be doo…. “*sings
I grew up watching Channel O when I lived in Lusaka, Zambia and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and every time Freshly Ground’s “Doo be doo” song came on, i would sing along and wonder what the hell it meant. Freshly Ground have continued to produce eye catching videos (remember ‘Chicken Change’ which was banned in Zimbabwe as it depicted Mugabe not in the best light?). Anyway, they were in NYC for the annual summer stage in central park and it was FREE!! I went with my friends Mwaka and Kachana and danced the whole show. #funtimes Oh and they replied to my tweet that day
Fally Ipupa
First off, who are this men’s parents and how did they create such a specimen of a man? Cuz he is …. *clutches pearls. Lets just say he can gyrate his waist off and is putting lots of men to shame.lol. I saw Fally at the 2011 Museke Afrotainment Awards in NY and ask Marie, i almost jumped onto the stage when he got on that stage. All i ask is for a man that can dance like that to be sent into my life.(Video is from Afrotainment utube page) *Amen
Black Coffee
I got a chance to meet and interview Black Coffee last summer for Africa Style Daily. He was really nice! I saw him perform a few days later at ‘Le Poission Rouge’ in NYC. He will be back in the states on March 16 for a concert at the Sullivan room, so check that out. I can listen to him dj for dayzz.
Awilo
Everyone must know Awilo Longomba or you must hide under a rock NOW! lol. He has us still playing “Comment Tu T’appele’ in 2012 and that song’s been out since like 1996. That’s how powerful he is. I saw him live in Queens at a Nigerian independence after party in October 2010. That was the same day i saw K’naan actually.
Malaika
Malaika are another group I grew up watching on Channel O years ago. I saw them during my bday weekend of 2010 at SOBS and had an amazing time. It was my bday weekend and I got to meet them after the event so that made my day Tjo the guy can dance! Southern African swag man!!
There you have it! What african acts have you seen over the years? Who were your faves? Who are you looking forward to seeing this year? If you don’t manage to catch any acts soon, you can listen to them via the ‘8 Sites to Discover African Music’( written by moi). Speaking of seeing acts live, I’m using this article via Okay Africa as my guide to the best African music festivals. One day soon, I’ll attend all those concerts. Who wants to come with? Which country in Africa has the best music festivals? As you can see, The North isn’t repped, so clue me in to whats hot there.
PS: Lady Smith Black Mambazo is performing in Albany, NY in mid march. Who wants to buy me tickets?
