give me freedom, give me fire...

official video for k'naan's FIFA World Cup anthem, 'wavin' flag: coca-cola celebration remix':



99 days til the World Cup is hosted by South Africa.

wave ya flag!!!

give me freedom, give me fire...

negrita's soundtrack: the tour

and, now, ladies and gentlemen...the tweet negrita has been waiting for:

@john_forte: It's official - K'Naan, Wale, and John Forte coming to a town near you this Spring!

um...


woot!

negrita's soundtrack: the tour

let freedom reign: nelson mandela

today marks 20 years since the release of Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years of his life as a political prisoner.

i clearly remember watching his release on television on a cold winter morning, and writing about it in my little journal, which was ordinarily filled with angst-ridden pre-teen non-drama. after years of participating in anti-apartheid protests with my parents and their friends (my first taste of activism), i knew i was witnessing a moment that would forever impact the continent, and the world.

"There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires."

"Let freedom reign. The sun never set on so glorious a human achievement."

--Nelson Mandela

if you have not already, read about his epic journey in Mandela's 'Long Walk to Freedom.'
and 'When Mandela Turned Down Freedom' via Khaya Dlanga.

let freedom reign: nelson mandela

soul food: erykah's 'window seat'

more new music of awesome.
here's 'window seat' by erykah badu, from her forthcoming release new amerykah pt. 2: return of the ankh.
over the past year or so: new k'naan, john forte, maxwell, sade, common, mos def, q-tip...and now erykah. at this point...all i need is lauryn and d'angelo to come back and i'll be complete. next up...groove theory!!!

soul food: erykah's 'window seat'

teddy pendergrass

we have a lost an incredible talent and a true legend.
may his soul rest in eternal peace.

Teddy Pendergrass first gained notoriety as a member of the Philadelphia group, Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes.



in 1977 he begun his solo career, and went on to become the first African American to have five consecutive platinum albums. in 1982 Pendergrass was injured in a car accident, which left him paralyzed from mid-chest down but which did not stop his momentum. two years later, he returned with his next album, which featured this single (and which is when i first fell in love with his voice):



you will be missed, Teddy. truly.




Teddy Pendergrass
1950-2010

teddy pendergrass

writer's block

...so...

...hmm...

...err...

source 1
source 2
source 3

writer's block

soul food: afropolitana: nneka & j.period's 'the madness (onye-ala)'

j. period is currently rocking my world. here's his latest mixtape effort featuring the beautiful, powerful afropolitan vocalist and lyricist, nneka egbuna (nigeria/germany). we've been asking where the formidable female emcees are at.... here's one to be reckoned with. she's been on the scene for years, but her music is just being introduced to US audiences.

download the full mixtape here.

soul food: afropolitana: nneka & j.period's 'the madness (onye-ala)'

soul food: afropolitana: blitz the ambassador

today brings us new music from afropolitan emcee, ghana's blitz the ambassador. check out his poignant track with the beautifully talented john forté.

soul food: afropolitana: blitz the ambassador

soul food: afropolitana: shad k and zaki ibrahim

on his latest album the great escape, louwop collaborates with two of our favorite canadian afropolitans (tm phiona of afripopmag), shad k (rwandan/kenyan/canadian) and zaki ibrahim (south african/canadian) on the songs 'one2check' and 'get up', respectively. in anticipation of his album release, louwop posted an live video that blends both tracks. awesome talent.

soul food: afropolitana: shad k and zaki ibrahim

soul food: sade's 'soldier of love'

sade's first single from her forthcoming album, soldier of love, has made its debut. i loved it at first listen. once again, sade adu is working with stuart matthewman, andrew hale, and paul spencer denman--her longtime band (who also make up the band, sweetback)--and, once again, they have produced soulful perfection. she consistently gets better with time. i am amazed that both she and maxwell have been out of circulation for this long, and can effortlessly bring the awesome upon their return. truly, she need not make a lot of noise to make a grand entrance. i cannot wait for the rest of this album.

...listen...

soul food: sade's 'soldier of love'

lady in my life (redux)

this song, in its original incarnation, is truly one of my favorites.
this tribute is simply beautiful. that is all.

'lady in my life' as performed by maxwell at the nomination concert of the 52nd grammy awards.

lady in my life (redux)