Inaugural 3-4-10: Winter/ Summer Music

For us in the Southern hemisphere it is the cold season, while y'all in the North are enjoying some semblance of summer (some places pretend to be hot and are clearly just as cold as we are here ;}).  I think I deserve to be in a summer state of mind as I have endured 8 months of consecutive wintry temperatures.  I am feeling a lot of music right now and thought I'd share what I'm listening to right now, most of which is helping me through my 30 minutes of cardio that consists of very silly dancing 3 times a week :). And any other time the rhythm gets me. It also allows me to kick off my 3-4-10 series that will consist of linked items that come in, you guessed it, 3s, 4s and 10s...

My current Top 3

1. Nwa Baby remix - Flavour
So smooth, so easy to dance to but I'm not sure about the vid...



2.  Why Can't We - Asa
So stylish, love the video, love the song :)



3. Give Me Everthing - Pitbull ft Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer
Builds me up into a frenzy and gets the heart pumping every time



4 songs that are still hitting the spot

1.  Mr. Endowed remix - D'Banj ft Snoop Dogg
I am still Mrs. Endowed. The original is good too :)

2. Under The Sheets Jakwob remix - Ellie Goulding
Man this song still makes me nuts, my body cannot sit still when it plays on my Blackberry. Her voice is so beautiful and calming too like on the original. Love her album.

3. Pass Out - Tinie Tempah
His whole album, Disc-overy, is just the shiznit man! Awesome possum!

4. Lento - Professor ft Speedy
The South Africans are the best on the continent at making good dance music with base to rumble in your soul and make your spirit spritely.

10 more to "spice up your life, every boy and every girl" ;)

1.    Wonderman - Tinie Tempah ft Ellie Goulding
       Two of my fav Brit artists together on the same track = a winner
2.    Shaka Zulu on Em - Zone Fam
       A friend manages this group. Gotta spread the Zed love.
       Check out Slam Dunk Records on YouTube.
3.    Run The World (Girls) - Beyonce
       Yes we do!
4.    Born For This - HHP, Teargas and Liquideep
5.    Beautiful People - Chris Brown
       This man is talented. Please can people help him get his
       personality straight!
6.    TGIF - Katy Perry
       She indulges my 80s nostalgia
7.    Possibility - P-Square ft 2Face Idibia
8.    Head, Shoulders, Kneez and Toes - KIG
9.    Sweat remix - Snoop Dogg vs David Guetta
10.  Price Tag - Jessie J ft B.o.B
       I have heard her sing this live on multiple chat shows and
       wowee she can sing!

Zed I'm Here To Stay!

Being on the continent and in the country of my birth is where I am meant to be.  I have talked about how Zambia has a penchant towards rejection of my Afropolitan self, but I am not going to let it get the better of me this time. Struggling with my identity is most acutely evident when I am home, but I think I have finally conquered my demons and am happy to shine - I am and not let anyone cast a shadow on the light I emit.  I am very excited to be here as there is a lot going on, and I want to be a part of it too :).

This post originally had a video that was part of my series Video Musing of an Afropolitan Woman.  It was the third and last one I made.  I realised that it took way too much energy to talk and be me in front of the camera, it is much easier for me to write to convey my nonsense and splashes of profound insight and brilliance (we can agree to disagree on that he he he).  I don't have the desire to be in front of the camera really.  I think that my posts in and of themselves more than adequately reflect my personality.  If you haven't realised by now that I am an intelligent, slightly unhinged and wacky afropolitan woman I can't help you ;}. 

Women's Tennis Shows That Women Are Beautiful And Relevant Beyond 30 :)

Witnessing Venus play Kimiko Date-Krumm in a 3 set thriller on Wednesday was soooo inspiring. Best women's match of the year :).  The 31 and 40 year old proved that it is all about being young at heart: having the drive, the belief and the gumption to reach and fufill your potential is not about being young. Both women don't look over 30 and are as fit, if not fitter, than the 20 years olds out there! Both women looked seriously scrumptious. (I am ignoring the little boo boo that stops Venus' outfit from being a hit due to the funky zip at the front causing problems in the boob area.  Thankfully, Serena has redeemed the sisters with a classic, simple fit and lovely purple nails with a silver flourish.) Not only that, they are playing better too. Look at the last few number ones. Only Ivanovic was able to get a Grand Slam while at the top before fading away fast and Safina and Wozniacki have not been able to keep it together under the pressure of playing on centre court. It is the "old" who are still winning as the William sisters and the return of Clijsters has shown, as well as those believing that it is never too late to reach the heights as shown by Schiavone last year and by Li Na this year at the French Open (both were 29 when they won and both popped their Grand Slam cherries too, with Li being inspired after being beaten by Schiavone in the 3rd round only to see her win in 2010).

This display of hotness and vitality  at the cusp and beyond 30 is especially pertinent in the world we live in today where the international media keep telling us that by the time you are 30 you are well past your sell-by-date or at the very least hanging on by a very thin thread. If these two are anything to go by, a correction is in order and the umpire has to overrule and state that actually 30 is when life truly begins :)!  I plan to help prove this point when I enter the imminent flirty and dirty 30s meself he he he ;}

Keep growing and never grow up!

Afropolitan Musings

This post originally had a video that was part of my series Video Musing of an Afropolitan Woman.  It was the second of three I made.  I realised that it took way too much energy to talk and be me in front of the camera, it is much easier for me to write to convey my nonsense and splashes of profound insight and brilliance (we can agree to disagree on that he he he).  I don't have the desire to be in front of the camera really.  I think that my posts in and of themselves more than adequately reflect my personality.  If you haven't realised by now that I am an intelligent, slightly unhinged and wacky afropolitan woman I can't help you ;}.

I am currently feeling my technology deficit and how I have been meaning to rectify it.  So of course the only person to come to aid this damsel in distress is Santa, whether it be the fat dude in the North Pole or some very handsome, rich man whom comes baring lots of gifts ha ha ha ha ;}. Being independent doesn't mean not asking for help when you need it, I do not think this infringes on my quest for female empowerment at all :).

I have added a new quote to the Amashiwi section up top and on the page too:


Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with deeper meaning   - Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.

I am currently working through Maya Angelou's 6 part autobiography and I am engrossed in the first, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. Her memory of her childhood is immaculate and her simple retelling of her youth is so honest, so childish, so poignant, so uplifting and so engaging! When I finish them all I will muse of course :).

For now, I have discovered what I imagine it would be like to be Mr. Tumnus. My lower body is really hurting, my sister definitely listened when I asked her to make an exercise plan that concentrated my thighs and butt. All I can feel right now is the forgotten muscles located in the lower extremities. So I imagine this is what it would feel like if I was a centaur. However, after only a day of exercise (my plan is Monday, Wednesday, Friday, weight and ball work followed by 30 minutes of dancing) I feel so fresh and so clean clean! I slept so well last night, bar waking up at 6am when my body stretched and was reminded of the muscles it had forgotten.  I stretched this morning and now will stretch everyday and not just before and after exercise. I just feel sooooooo alive!  There is a difference between being extant and actually participating in life. Using your body is part of participating. I am ashamed that I cowered in the corner when things got a little rough and neglected this facet of my life.  Hopefully never again!

NEW!: Video Musings of an Afropolitan Woman

This post originally had a video that was part of my series Video Musing of an Afropolitan Woman.  It was the first of three I made.  I realised that it took way too much energy to talk and be me in front of the camera, it is much easier for me to write to convey my nonsense and splashes of profound insight and brilliance (we can agree to disagree on that he he he).  I don't have the desire to be in front of the camera really.  I think that my posts in and of themselves more than adequately reflect my personality.  If you haven't realised by now that I am an intelligent, slightly unhinged and wacky afropolitan woman I can't help you ;}.

After having a very lovely email conversation with the next big Nigerian film director who recently launched his site 37th State, I have been inspired to get off my very comfortable arse and finally start making videos.  I am the Queen of procrastination, yes that's with a capital Q.  I am very adept at stalling and convincing those around me to join the bandwagon and this skill is happily facilitated by my propensity to inertia.

So I now have my own YouTube Channel and you can find me on Facebook.  Please subscribe on any of those platforms or become a follower of the blog and/ or leave comments.  The interaction I have received thus far has been very helpful and encouraging and I value it greatly.

This first video is about African themed books from the continent and the diaspora.  I forced myself to watch it before my rather rudimentary stab at video making, involving little editing using the standard tool that comes with Windows.  What is clear that the clip itself is fine, I have used technology to the best of my ability, but it is me that could do with a bit of work:

1. I need to be less nervous. Popping your video cherry is not easy and as they say it is always awkward the first time is it not ;}?! Having to give myself the note to be louder is I'm sure releasing chuckles from the throats of all those who know me well.  My voice also sounds rather funny but I believe that is due to being at home and involuntarily suppressing my accent when talking to people so they are not hostile for whatever reason they come up with or just so I'm  not ripped off at the market when buying jewellery  I like to blend into my surroundings most of the time. This also happens in the US when no one can understand me when I ask for a glass of water at a restaurant. I have never been told to be louder, I'm always being told to be more discreet, quiet, or to just shut up!

2. I need a tan! Unfortunately I have spent the last 8 months in the cold by somehow managing to go to Europe during the autumn and winter only to return to winter in Zambia so have not had consistent sunshine for 3/4 of the year!!! I'm really smart like that. I am hoping that my pallid complexion is due to my recent bout of malaria but I know it is not - my family have been telling me I need some colour for a while. I will follow my dear British boarding school friends' lead by purposefully planning to sit outside when the sun is out and shellacking myself with oil to speed up the browning process ;}.

3. Better set design.  My minion, who claims to be my younger sister, said I was being too anal.  She filmed off centre so I am sure we are not related by blood.  Yes this is enough evidence for me to deny kinship.

African and Diasporan books that featured in the video were:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Harmattan Rain by Ayesha  Harruna Attah
Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga
Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Rich Girl, Poor Girl by Lesley Lokko
So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

All great books I highly recommend :)

Music With A Message

I have been noticing that there are quite a lot of songs emanating from the very soul of the African continent and the diaspora with an empowering or moral tone to them.  When I think about songs with a mission I think of the sixties and seventies when John Lennon asked the world to "give peace a chance" and Marvin Gaye asked "what's going on?" Those questions can still be asked today, but I don't really hear them being asked with the passion that was done in those days in the musical realm.

Here are a few songs I have come across in the last couple of months that are asking questions of us and/ or hope to inspire us:

Shedding light on Diabetes:



Abuse and empowerment:





Politics:



Race:



Prejudice:



Do these songs have as much of an impact today as they did then?  The last song I can really think of that had any kind of impact was Hugh Masekela's "Bring Back Nelson Mandela" in the 80s. Are we so jaded now that songs can no longer stir us into action, providing the soundtrack to change?  Does music no longer have political and/ or social clout? Or have we not found a way to expose these songs in the 21st Century digital world we live in, where everything is accessible but access is thwarted by the way our lives are constantly being fragmented into tiny pieces that it is hard to see the links sometimes? A lot to ponder, hmmmmmmm..........