Movin' On Up

Progression is an inherent aspect of life. Moving up and onward. Growth. Building. Making Strides.

All of the above is what Ethiopian-American musician, Kenna Zemedkun, sought out to do in his quest to raise awareness about the global clean water crisis. He will be leading a team of his friends, including Lupe Fiasco, Jessica Biel, and Elizabeth Gore, on a climb up Mouth Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain peak on the continent of Africa). The documentary of "Summit on the Summit" was covered by MTV on March 14th this month (check out MTV for a repeat!) and in doing so, Kenna is hoping to raise money for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), The Children's Safe Drinking Water Program, and the PlayPumps International.

And how did this all begin? While Kenna himself was born in Ethiopia, he was raised in the American context where the threat of water concerns had not been one of the primary issues that his family had to deal with. His father, on the other hand, knew a plethora of friends and family members from back in their country who had died on account of waterborne illnesses. This is what inspired Kenna to begin his mission, and this is also what is propelling him to continue it.

Please feel free to chime in your thoughts on this subject matter!

Alongside doing so, please feel free to check out http://www.summitonthesummit.com/#/intro where you can follow the crews adventures. In addition, take a look at the video below for what Kenna has to say about his project....and a quick taste of his musical talents!

A Global Beat...for Peace

Take a second out of studying for midterms to check out this global effort at awareness on Sudan. This film, a Global Drumbeat for Peace, tells and shows the story of a drum beat (yes...a drum beat!) that starts in Sudan and gets passed around the world in hopes of having every-day people educate themselves on the current conditions in Sudan - of bringing the nation closer to peace. From Brazil, to Ireland, to Australia, individuals were giving voice to the strife that has taken place, and continues to take place...to this day.

Check out the video below -- Do you believe in the efforts put forth in this movie? Do you feel like it will truly do anything that it claims it will do? Tell us what you think!

http://www.cnn.com/video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_freevideo+%28RSS%3A+Video%29#/video/showbiz/2010/01/09/vassileva.intv.beat.for.peace.cnn

Omar Pene at SOB's

Musical artists from the African continent have a long-standing romance with New York City. One such performer that we recommend you check out is Senegalese singer Omar Pene, described by Youssou N'Dour as "the living legend of African music." SOB's is an incredible venue for checking out international music acts (and dancing the night away) - tickets to see Pene are $25: http://www.ticketweb.com/t3/sale/SaleEventDetail?dispatch=loadSelectionData&eventId=1282875

Here's a preview of the magic in store on Friday March 19:

Cultural Diffusion: Flowing Both Directions

For many of us coming from immigrant families, we get sick of hearing about kids these days being Americanized...but what about Westerners being Africanized? Check out this video of the Dutch attempting Ethiopian Eskista!



Here's a link to Japanese doing Ethiopian dance...this one is more humorous than it is accurate:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sekaramuleba

Sauti Za Busara - Zanzibar, Tanzania

I'm a huge fan of the BBC's photo section and of African music, and so I was pleasantly surprised to find the following picture essay on Sauti Za Busara (Sounds of Wisdom), a music festival held in Stone Town, the capital city of island of Zanzibar. This past week was its seventh anniversary, and over 40 groups representing the continent and the Diaspora performed in front of massive crowds. Food, dancing and celebration marked the 4-day event, which carried on despite the power problems Zanzibar has been dealing with for the past few months. I'm definitely adding this festival to my life's bucket list. Check the photo story here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8521925.stm

Music and Visual Magic from Congo: Baloji

Oroma Elewa, the editor of Pop Africana (a fabulous style-focused site), recently posted about Congolese artist Baloji - his sound is a breath of fresh air for the contemporary African hip-hop scene. Check out the video for "Karibu ya bintou":

I personally love the documentary-style filming and the infectiously unique drum-line of the track (and, of course, his impeccable style and fly hair). Post up your thoughts on this song, and any other upcoming artists we should be paying attention to.

See K'naan and Wale at the Fillmore

For all my fellow New Yorkers -

Wale and K'naan will be hitting the city on March 31st - John Forté is doing the opening honours.

Ticket information here: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/00004451D0BC6569