Special Issue: Indigenous Peoples and the Politics of Water

This is very alarming, and how long has it been going on??? Also from USA Today.. “Young children in in several New Jersey cities have higher levels of lead in their blood than children in Flint, Mich., where a water contamination crisis has grabbed national attention.

There were more than 3,000 new cases in New Jersey of children under 6 with elevated lead levels in 2015, bringing the total to around 225,000 since 2000, said Elyse Pivnick, director of environmental health for Isles Inc. New Jersey’s exposure is linked to lead paint in homes, not water supplies.”

“Because of Flint, Michigan, most of the world now knows lead in water can poison children,” said Pivnick. “The deplorable water scandal is an important story, but it is just as tragic and alarming that thousands of children in New Jersey continue to be exposed to lead year after year.”

The New Jersey cities affected by lead were Irvington, Trenton, Newark, Paterson, Plainfield, Jersey City, Elizabeth, Atlantic City, New Brunswick and Passaic, plus Cumberland and Salem counties. Notice the cities listed are all the NJ ghettos, which are filled with expendable blacks and latinos.

Decolonization

Download a shareable PDF of this Call for Submissions here:

The Politics of Water- Special Issue – Decolonization

---

Title: Indigenous Peoples and The Politics of Water

Editors: Melanie K. Yazzie (University of New Mexico) and Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy (San Diego State University)

Abstracts Due: April 4, 2016

Submissions Due: August 31, 2016

                                               

Call for Submissions

Overview

[Feb 3, 2016] Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society invites articles from scholars, artists, activists, policy makers, and community members for a special issue of the journal exploring Indigenous peoples and the politics of water. Water is an ancient and sacred element of Indigenous epistemologies and ways of life. Water sustains, builds and inspires. In the contemporary context climate change, water security, and environmental destruction have captivated popular attention. A proliferation of scholarly and public works, as well as (inter)governmental working groups and summits, have emerged to address these interrelated issues. We acknowledge…

View original post 835 more words

Garifuna Folk Singing in Harlem

A couple weeks ago I went to a Belizean Barbecue in Harlem with a couple friends.  It was absolutley invigorating!!  I got to experience the Garifuna culture in a very up close and personal way. Learn about the Garifuna people, and watch the video I took at the Barbecue.

Afro Latino Festival of New York 2015

IT’S BACK!!!! this is the third year of the Afro Latino Festival, and I must say that this year it is bigger and better than ever!  You know Negros Americanos will be performing, but they are bringing some real heavy hitters out there. For example one of my favorite artists Kafu Banton– along with Les Nubians and Cultura Profetica! If you don’t know these guys, click the links on their name to get a sample.  It’s going to be great!! Did you catch the Negros Americanos cameo in the trailer video?

Me Rapping in Portuguese! (Who wants to learn a language?)

I have said numerous times that I have been learning the Portuguese language for about a year in a half.  The best way to get started for me was to use Duolingo.  After I got a little comfortable with the structure of the language, I started to Skype with my very attractive Brazilian portuguese professora.  That was amazing, but with limited internet access I couldn’t do that all the time. For me listening to Brazilian hip hop and learning the lyrics and performing them was also a good way to learn how people really speak the language on the ground level, slang and all.  With Brazilian Portuguese, learning the slang (Girias) is like learning an extra language, actually several extra languages as each region has it’s different slangs.

Racionais MC’s are from São Paulo, and are often looked at as the “Public enemy” or “NWA” of Brazil, if you will.  They speak on social issues that effect the more marginalized individuals of Brazilian society in -The Ghetto- or – A periferia- as it is often called in Brazil.  “Negro Drama” is their most popular songs, and arguably one of the most popular hip hop songs in a country who has a black population surpassed by only the African Nation of Nigeria.  Because they rap rather slow it was very easy for me to pick up on this song early.  Although, I must say I made some mistakes here and slurred some words… you get the gist.  I will continue to upload covers of popular Brazilian hip hop songs, as well as original songs in Portuguese and Spanish.  Check the video below of me singing Negro Drama:

e

Lost In The Wilderness (Soundtrack)

The Soundtrack will be released on your bandcamps, soundclouds and youtubes and all those good ole musical sharing avenues.  The track listing will include all songs used in the upcoming documentary (Lost In The Wilderness).  A list of songs, some -like Peaceful, C.h.u.c.h.a, The flight back, and The Field  of which have already been released on other projects. but help tell the story of Negros Americanos.  The Soundtrack, however is majority new songs that the world has never heard, including snippets from the upcoming album “Take Flight”.  I can also tell you that the song cornbread will  be on the soundtrack along with another song from the same band Le Gamut.  

Check the link below to see the trailer for the (L.I.T.W) soundtrack sung by the beautiful and talented Fallon Chalvire (euphrates).  This will also be the intro record, you will enjoy-

The first single from the Lost In The Wilderness (Soundtrack) -Can you ride it- has been out since the 4th of May.  It features the voice of the lovely Alexis Monteith, and was filmed on a secret location.  The first three people to guess the location get a free black and white Negros Americanos t-shirt!!!! Leave your guess in the comment box here!

FOSHO by Mello Mel

Mello Mel’s FOSHO is finally out! I for one am stupidly excited about that.  I have had the pleasure of working with Mel at his studio several times and must say that this individual is really a complete producer.  Never before have I listened to modern instrumental music without trying to imagine my own lyrics over the track.  Correction, I always try to rap over Mel’s Fosho tracks, but the extreme enjoyability of the music slaps me into a trance that only allows me to focus on the instrumentation and not what I may want to add.

 

The FOSHO album is 2 years in the making.  I am always in the awe of the amount of work that Mel puts in, and the ear for sound that he has.  An ear that could take a drum and base sound, mix it with “elevated” trap a little boom bap, house music, etc.  The outcome is a sound that you can dance to, smoke to, have as good background music as you engage with friends.  Maybe even a good tune to put on when you want to talk to an attractive lady and possibly get some action, as there are less distractions with no lyrics.  So, If you are not in the Jersey area to pick up a physical you can free stream, or support this extremely talented black man by purchasing the album for $9.99 USD on Bandcamp.com.  

Below is the link to check out FOSHO!

https://mellomel.bandcamp.com/album/fosho

Brazilian AfroBeat

Based in Salvador, Bahia, this band/group I.F.Á is top notched next level with their music creation.  I.F.Á. (Ijexá — Funk– Afrobeat) presents a repertoir inspired by the musical diversity of African roots and its presence in the contemporary scene. the group dives into the universe of Afrobeat, Dub, Reggae, Funk and the music  of the Afro Afoxe groups of Bahia, making their music a true manifestation of the musical aesthetic!

So I met this very talented individual on Facebook.  I was connected with him through a woman that is a part of my closed group.  She sent me a suggestion to make him my friend, and said that we were on a similar wave. Jorge Dubman, a.k.a. Dr. Drumah hails from Salvador, Bahia-which is The African soul of Brazil. The mere mention of the name carries a deep cultural, spiritual and religious significance that is linked to Africa.  This soul definitely manifests itself within Dubman’s music.  At first, he was introduced to me as a dope hip hop producer.  We linked and he sent me a couple beats that were FANTASTIC!!  But then, about a week or two ago he sent me a link to a new video that he did with his band I.F.Á (He is the drummer of the Band) and I was absolutely blown away!!! I had to post it here.  It wasn’t really hip hop but a blend of so many genres and executed properly!  The way the video opens up gives me a quick glance of life in Salvador and it is shot so well that I actually thought I was a part of the band!.  Make sure you check out the new video posted below!!!

Cornbread Around the World!

 

So If you happen to find yourself in the Southern part of Tennessee on the 25th and 26th there will be a National Cornbread Festival!  Ya thats right! A Festival for Cornbread! I couldn’t make it up if I tried.  It is interesting that this annual festival is held in Tennessee, because if you check the song that I posted below named Cornbread, I talk about about a girl from that state who I fell in love with and wanted back.  The National Cornbread Festival takes place in the sleepy town of South Pittsburg, Tennessee, quite some distance from the metropolitan hotspots of Memphis and Nashville.  It appears that this town is about 80% White, hmm  I wonder who they have making the cornbread.  But I don’t want you to think this post is only about the National Cornbread Festival.  I have also been checking what other cultures outside of the United States.  First click below to see the video Negros Americanos-Cornbread.

Now that I have that out of the way, I would like to share some of what I have learned today.  Of course I can’t talk about every culture’s cornbreads, but just highlight a few.  The United States isn’t alone in its love for this buttery and delectable treat!  Below, is Broa de Milho and it is a Portuguese and Brazilian Cornbread.  Unlike the cornbread typical of the US  Broa is leavened with yeast, rather than baking soda.

Pain de Mais is French cornbread, but made differently in different areas.  For instance I looked  into the Haitian Variety, and also the cornbread from Quebec. The Haitian Pain de Mais looks a lot different from the American cornbread, because seems to use more  cinnamon and nutmeg, MMM I want to taste it! I don’t see much of a difference between the Quebec cornbread and US cornbread.  But also don’t know much about the ingredients because all the info on it seems to be in French, which I cannot understand yet.  Left is Haitian Cornbread, to the right is Quebec Cornbread.

 

There is also a Colombian Cornbread called Mantecada.  Now the original Mantecada is a type of Pastry from Spain similar to a muffin, but in Colombia it is different.  It is cut into squares like the cornbread we are familiar with and it is mostly popular in the capital city of Bogotá.  Now that I know this, I will order it from the Colombian restaurant near me.

Since we made the song cornbread, I have noticed that many women have offered to make us meals with this down home treat on the side.  If that is the only benefit or rewards from this song, I’ll take that lol.  I have definitely gained a few pounds! I Love Cornbread! and I am elated to know that when I travel to other countries, I still have a similar dish that can compliment my main course- cornbread!

Banda Preto Soul (Brazil)

So I do believe that I have mentioned to you that I am part of a closed  Facebook group aimed at bridging the cultural gap between black folk from the US and Brazil.  It is called Negras Brasileiras e Negros Americanos.  I am meeting so many beautiful and talented people from Brazil!  I constantly talk about my musical group-Negros Americanos.  We have been getting so many other recording and performance artists joining the group as well, it has become almost a musical overload,  And much like McDonalds…………I’m Luvin it!

I really enjoy this group-Banda Preto Soul!  Their sound blends together beautifully, from the instrumentation to the soothing voice of Nega San (lead vocalist).  As soon as she joined our Facebook group and saw me posting about N.A, she asked me if I ever thought about coming to São Paulo and Goiânia to do shows with them.  She then put me in contact with other members of her band, and we have been talking about the Brazilian hip hop/alternative scene and how to contract shows.  I am really looking forward to meeting this band and working with them in Brazil!

A Weekend Getaway

Cleveland Rocks

Plainfield View

I suppose I ought to have a good excuse for not posting in eight days. For most of that time, I was distracted by one of my most significant decisions in quite a while. I’ll explain another time, but trust me, you wouldn’t have blogged either.

Towards the weekend, I had a different preoccupation. How good of an excuse it is depends on how much of a sports fan you are.

On Saturday morning, I flew out to Cleveland, Ohio to watch the opening game of the Cavaliers 2015 Playoff run. My 1998, 1999, and 2007 trips to Cleveland were all during the offseason, and I’d never attended a Cavs home game through nearly eighteen years of fandom.

Quicken Loans Arena, as it is called now, was Gund Arena back when I started following the team as a ten year old.

I get the most pleasure from walking around…

View original post 401 more words