Are you ready for Britannia Zimeisha & Makmende (remixed)?

World vision: Bredrin and Sistas in Solidarity (B.A.S.I.S)

Paukwa! Pakawa! Hapo (si) zamana (sana) ya kale a collective of god/desse/s gathered over moons en continue to co-create art for (revolushunary) social change (in diverse mediums).

There are many stories we know bout de dunia en how it floats in space on de back of a kobe…..

Hadithi? Hadithi? Hadithi njoo, ukweli njoo, Utamu kolea. Nipe mji?

Are you ready for a Tdot Renaissance?

We gon be sharing live.^. Mark your calendars.

Ya dun know!

 

What’s next Makmende?

Makmende Returns (from Libya) was released in [selected] theatres in East Afrika today. These are the first exclusive and entirely fictional interviews with the (super)hero.

Makmende reveals hir ‘secret’ names in #UrbanLegend magazine and  talks about landmark strategies to resist AFRICOM, rebuild the United States of Afreeka and his Top Ten Albums in the May issue of #Afreeka Moja ….

[sneak preview]

Afreeka Moja: Thank you for agreeing to this interview at such short notice. We are privileged and honoured and greatly thrilled to share space with you,  there’s so much that we’re yearning to re/learn,  why should Afrika know more about you, where is the best place for us to start?

Makmende: if music be the food of love, then these have been summa my favourite albums in the last decade to adventure with…..

1. Burning spear – Rare and Unreleased/Ultimate Collection – 2001

Notable tracks include the mesmerizing and previously unreleased Mandela Marcus and a jungle dub mix of Slavery Days.

[released on South African label Revolver Records na [and] Hip-O Records]

2. Asa (Asha) [2007] label: naive

3. Nneka – No Longer At Ease [2008]

4. George Clinton– George Clinton and his Gangsters of Love  [2008]

5. K’naan – The Dusty Foot Philosopher [2005]

6. Sade – Soldier of Love [ 2010]

7. D’bi young.anitafrika – wombanifesto  [Year of the Tiger]

8. Nicki Minaj – Pink Friday [2010]

9. P-Funk All Stars – Urban Dancefloor Guerrillas

• 10. Stella Chiweshe – Double check – 2006 – [released by] Piranha

To the latest one by Loyiso – Full Circle [released in the Year of the Tiger]

[between the lines: Top 10 dreamscapes of a soundtrack for an epic of a doc’ bout’ Kuchus, The Q_t werd and dub theatre by colour spill productions (with pan-afrikan performing arts institute) and the people project…….fresh like werd on the ground from the weapon of the revolution ]

kama ni ukweli:  “The whole of my life seems to be condensed into this one wonderful moment. Everything that I have been, everything that I have done, was for this. Could anyone dream of more?”

(na kama ni new…..) Spoken by Yuri Gagarin just before he entered the spacecraft Vostok 1 [with Makmende] before his proto-orbital launch – April 12 1961

so really, what’s next Makmende?

 

Bredrin and sistas in solidarity: asking the right questions

Hadithi? Hadithi? What would Makmende do?

Hadithi njoo, uwongo njoo, utamu kolea….

Sikiliza kuna hadithi. Kuna maneno utakuja kuelezewa. Sikilizeni niwasimulieni ngano.

Hapo (si) zamani za kale palitokea safari ya pan-Afrikans all ova di continent en within di diaspora of righteousness……

The ‘peacefulness’ of these elections has allowed some bloggers to look at the funny side of things.

Urban Legend Kampala keeps things in perspective, with fictitious interviews:

Urban Legend: Mr Museveni, what plans do you have for this next term of yours?

Museveni: Well, generally speaking our vision is to consolidate the gains made so far by my government so far, to keep Uganda progressing on track, to discover and exploit even more ways to maximize our natural resources and to further cement the vice-grip I currently have on power until the point that not even Armageddon can unseat me.

Urban Legend: Good luck with that, sir.

[Reposted with overflowing love, respekt en humility from http://wildugandablog.com/ ………Nollywood style…..]

Hadithi? Hadithi? Hadithi njoo……it is stories like these though that  inspire so many mo of us, so empowering when comrades and friends we love, respekt en admire, like bombastic kasha are abundantly recognised for their struggles and those of others on the frontline, ni kweli pamoja tunafika 🙂

http://www.africanactivist.org/2011/03/kasha-jacqueline-on-women-deliver-100.html

Hadithi? Hadithi?  Check dis text messages expressing support for mo of our freedom fighters like, Munyaradzi Gwisai of theInternational Socialist Organisation (Zimbabwe) and the 44 others who have been charged with treason:

Absurd it is and I condemn it in the strongest manner possible. Asi kuenda kwemukuru shingai varume we are with you in spirit.

• ‘Let my people go.’ Exodus 5 v. 2 History is on our side! Age is on our side! People are on our side! God is on our side! The people shall govern!
• Under these very difficult circumstances I wish you courage, faith, patience and humour.
• The world has eyes. Nothing is going to happen to the 45 detained on false treason charges.
• No rule of law, no democracy, no peace, no justice. It’s high time we should take to the streets and demonstrate against dictatorship.   
• Let us pray for them. God is for the oppressed. One day he will free his oppressed people. Let’s have faith in him.
• I support them because they are driving towards human, civil, political, social and economic rights.
• We must be free to choose our favourite leaders.
• Vicious regimes are destined to fall. We’ve the strong conviction to free our nation. Let’s fight on guys.
• The Almighty God is watching. You will conquer. Keep the wheels of change rolling. We are with you.
• Those who arrested the 45 are the ones who are committing treason.
• Free the 45 now! – Batanai
• To those imprisoned we want you to know that we serve a God of infinite justice. Be encouraged. We will pray for you and hold you in our hearts. – Nan
• An injury to one is an injury to all. We are with them wherever they are. We will stand with them.

[reposted from http://www.kubatanablogs.net/kubatana/]

[we hear you, we see you, we feel you, tupo pamoja!]

 

possessing the secret of joy

I give thanks for (the days before) yesterday, today and tomorrow…still riding off the energy of (more than) thousands of womben uniting to take to the streets in demonstration for wise womban traditions. I am grateful for all the sacred spaces I`ve been guided to n communed with others n for all the positive transformations of di season.

I pray that the blessings of yesterday carry into tomorrow, en as I contemplate the reality of Rob Ford as mayor in the city (not only) I have grown to cherish and love so much, I pray for guidance and healing not only for myself but others, that we may continue to change the destructive paths we`ve been on, grow more humble, loving and strong, as we come into our right destinies. I pray that we overstand the lessons from our teacher (guide)s……ase. ase. Ase……

Real tox: the q_t werd IS in the spaces between our bio(mytho)graphical (vision) quests and ancestral memories. an epic litany of our survival, and the secrets to our thriving. the riddle of the sphinx is in how all a dis’ resources being shared in so many parts of different villages….(en how) pamoja tutafika!

real tox: the q_t werd is bout all dis’ communing with other (not-so) fresh off the boat(er)s,

New Afrikans,

Urban griots, in di diaspora

Elders, en our guides [in the q_t werd]

Hadithi? Hadithi?

Hadithi njoo…..

Giza ya?

Sahani ya?

……

 

Love (en getting over the fear) complex

Last few week(end)s I been talking en hanging with mo’ bredrin en dadas that I love, respekt en admire so….reasoning bout many tings close to our hearts: love/r/s, families, dreams, passions, work,  our Afrikan stories, healing en the transitions that we’ve stumbled, are walking en continue grounding thru…so grateful for the manifestations of our quests to spread (salaam)  love en unity within our communities, I give thanks for what brought and binds us together forever….

coz last  couple o’ nites were like heaven on earth…. where infinite possibilities (re)presented themselves with beautiful, loving folks coming together to cook en break bread [pan-afrikan style], fundraise, play, reason en share many resources….real tox: these are the hadithi of the q_t werd, the blessings en powah of  positive(ly)  productive collectives, everyday…

like yesterday, I heard bout the story of na nga def en of revolushunary collectives in the diaspora embracing back to Afrika movements, yet another [trailer of a] doc that changed my life forever, four women (en then some) struck deep, their werds walking with me since

When we organise we find strength then in (you know) supporting each other, in being able to project our voices collectively [talent jumo]…

you’d have to get people to unite, take my country for instance… I wouldn’t advise that people must now start fighting, but it took war for us in order to get freedom, and people of colour in Brazil need to unite and stand for one thing [sega khutlapyo]…

it’s about creating positive energy and positive vibes around us [angel wainaina]….

i personally would want to help in that fight [yaganoma baatoulkuu]…..

Pamoja tulifika on Saturday….. en Sunday night was a reminder of how far we’ve come, how far we have to go still in building solidarity amongst our communities, en how much we have to be grateful for with the loving, growing revolushunary villages being rebuilt in the heart of urban centres in de’ diaspora en on the continent en….I pray that we continue to change the destructive paths we’ve been on, en fulfill our destinies

Truthis…our love (and growth stories) is at the crux of coming together…..sharing fantasies en food, fundraising, storytelling, celebrating, playing en praying together…..filling our hearts with the divine energy of the kinda people that we want to rebuild our homes with…

Real tox is… these quests we’re documenting, are (not only) our own and of people we know,

in dis space, now….we’re still getting to the crux of where we wanna be, in another place not here…

and there’s always the matter of how much villages should know about who exactly is coming, when the child hasn’t even arrived or chosen to stay in dis world yet…..

The riddle of the sphinx (in the q_t werd) is in the connecshun between nneka en nneke dumela. Where did nneka en nneke meet? In what different world(s)?

Real tox is….. there’s only so many stories we can share ‘about’ the q_t werd before we’ve finished production, only so much we can tell you about nneke before the biomythical monologue for the play is even finished, or bout nneka before we’ve even shot the interview, so we’ll tell you about the mid-wives first, from long long ago hadi leo, until next year….

In other werds, because there are so many of our true true stories to share, because the world is bigger than 5, 7 or 9 bredrin en dadas, we’re going to continue sharing hadithi about s/heroes, teachers and legends we love

Continue breaking down the complex of fear generated around being betwixt en between binaries and identities, playing with masks and [ideologies of] time and space, kama akina dada wa Afrika halisi

http://www.blacklooks.org/2010/10/feminist-africa-how-africom-contributes-to-militarisation-in-africa

Truthis, because we’ve shared so many of our fears before, the trust that’s been building, the safe spaces we’ve maintained, the metamorphosis we’ve witnessed and the love we’ve shared with each other en our loved ones have cushioned our rebirthing and transformed the pain

……….It was love in the first place, must admit, you blew me away, all the music…..inside of me,

got me feeling, some kinda madness…it was love…….

A woman speaks

Bout turning pages, making changes and showing (big) love….

Hadithi? Hadithi?

Nipe mji?

 

the spaces between yesterday, tonite en tomorrow

Last night was one of those unexpectedly beautiful ones, where I reasoned, ate, danced and reconnected with mo people that I love, respekt and admire so, that not only I need to get to know much betta, [http://www.apaa.ca/]

yesterday was betta than I expected, breaking bread and praying with growing families. I am grateful for working, living, and communing in such human positive spaces. I give thanks for the mentors, healers, peacemakers, farmers, cooks, families and friends gathering to re/build healthy, loving sustainable communities

[real tox: between the lines/ hadithi kama/riddle of the sphinx /a spiral/ healing/litany of survival/ haiku/]

http://www.blacklooks.org/2010/10/the-mask-hides-nothing

weeks been manifesting in sync with the autumn season: full of metamorphosis, deep lessons, storyboarding en mobilising resources for (hibernation en) mo’ arts/educashun en community work

[real tox: we’re, in the spaces between, writing biomythdramas, shooting interviews with POCstars, revising the storyboard of the feature length documentary (from 32 stories to 9ish core characters ), organising fundraisers for a queer/trans youth arts collective to be implemented in May 2011 in East Afrika….big tings a gwaan en the fiya this time is divine]

the drama of the q_t werd is  (un)expected, deep/rooted in pan/afrikan tapestries, familiar/yet masked/with many faces/many acknowledge truthis/ over-rated yet

the stories we’re retelling in dub are the real tox we been having, and the real struggles we been facing in building solidarity among our communities/revolushunary village style

The folks in the  q_t werd are the tapestry of our quest to reclaim our ancestral memories en resituate global voices: afrikan/ queer/ trans/people of colour/ middle class/ poor/ en working class/youth/diversely-abled/artists/healers/farmers/mamas/babas/bredrin en dadas in solidarity/people we know……

you don’t need a weatherwomban to know which way the wind blows…the fiya en wota  dis’ time, on dis here earth of ours, is divine….

hadithi? Hadithi?

Hadithi njoo.

Giza ya?………Sahani ya?……..Nipe mji……..

 

D is for drama(turge): the Crux of the Q_t werd

Recently a ‘rafiki’ (kiswahili for friend) of ours, offered critical feedback on the storyboard of dis’ documentary feature en the (wish-list of a) series, it came in the form of a rhetorical question, in the wake of goodbyes en hellos, masking many fears en hopes en deep scars, grasping at the heart of the matter…

[blogger’s note: ‘us’ (our.stories.n.people) in the q_t werd stands in for the non/fictional, biodramamythical collective of artists, artivists and village (organizer)s  aka. ‘bredrin and dadas in solidarity’]

bigger point is, dis dada said ”you know what your doc doesn’t have? an antagonist……..”

(leading us to the latest ‘episode’ in this quest of building solidarity en salaam [Arabic en kiswahili for peace], but first a lil’ background…..truthIs, we’ve been seeding, planting and sharing our ideas and the storyboard of the q_t werd in our villages since way before the inception of this blog, or the ‘other’ one/s – where behind the mask/‘we’ all get nekkyd)

Our roster of bio/mytho/biographies en interviews feature only people we love, respekt and admire, and reads like we’re totally in love with so so many of dem, n we unashamedly are;

those real talks that make the q_t werd are as fresh as the legends of jus dis week in review….from the highs of ‘our’  colour me dragg AND  cassie walker winning $5,000 @ manifesto, to ‘our’ community raising the roof @ granny boots for kim & nat, doing it revolushunary grassroots style…..

real talks as conflicted as the lows of last night with the drama n fuckery that defined the was the ‘powers that be’ hosting the AGM meeting for ‘our’ Pride Toronto

[in the spaces between, we continue to chart the journey in dub…..where a is for anitafrika dub theatre, b is for [the vision of] bredrin and dadas in solidarity, c is for colour me dragg and colour spill productions, all the way to p is for the people project and where m is for the myths that we’re relearning , taught by our kinda legends, in these hadithi of the q_t werd]

…………As women, we have been taught either to ignore our differences, or to view them as causes for separation and suspicion rather than as forces for change. Without community there is no liberation, only the most vulnerable and temporary armistice between an individual and her oppression. But community must not mean a shedding of our differences, nor the pathetic pretense that these differences do not exist.”

[excerpt from: The Master's Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master's House
 
by Audre Lorde
 
From Sister Outsider, The Crossing Press Feminist Series (1984)]

These are the stories that make the q_t werd, as real as our children and lovers, institutionalised scandals, mashups and makeups, evolving bashes and (not-so) complicated backlash to ‘our’ community organising and village rebuilding, and all the lessons we’re relearning in our journeys.

the bigger point of this post is…… ‘that’ question,

the answer is….we have plenty antagonists, plenty of enemies BUT…… we choose to focus dis quest of documenting our healing en collective recovery, of rebuilding salaam and solidarity, on people we love

and even then, still……d is for drama is the crux of the q_t werd…

because the truth is….. we’re still working thru our shit, and even if we were to start jus with people we know en love, we would have more than nuff stories of conflict transformation and wishful fantasies for seven seasons.

The q_t werd is as simple as ABC en D [toZ] en as mysterious as the riddle of the sphinx…..

Hadithi? Hadithi?

Hadithi njoo……

Kesho ni: E is for elimu sanifu: in the q_t werd