Y'all heard! Time to get in here and show some love for a culture that just keeps on giving...

I'ma start with the music...African American...

I'd post Prince...but the mods are watching me like a hawk...

And soooo many more...I could go on forever...

The art...

Oh yes....Egypt too...

Post things you love about African American/Traditional African culture.

[Edited 4/23/11 23:37pm]

speech where michael spoke of economic autonomy/empowerment in the motherland:

and the motherland loves michael:

the amazing wunmi!

oneness of juju!

the great kwame ture:

ABBEY LINCOLN!

PATRICE LUMUMBA!!!

EL HAJJ MALIK EL SHABAZZ!

DR. BETTY SHABAZZ!

MIRIAM MAKEBA!

DR. IVAN VAN SERTIMA- an afrikan from guyana

JOHN HENRIK CLARKE!

Awesome post Jamilah!

Funk Music...gotta love it..

Disco:

Soul:

And yes, the true inventors of rock 'n' roll

[Edited 4/24/11 14:12pm]

yes indeed...

"Black Culture"? Africa Appreciation?????

Don't you mean two different ones? Perhaps American African American culture?

I apologize for being a jerk, but the title of this thread ignorantly lacks. Looking at this I feel like I'm lookin at a 4th grade teacher's day lesson in Black History month from 1981.

And Africa has 50 countries so which culture in general are you speaking of?

There were the best.

[Edited 5/7/11 22:49pm]

KatSkrizzle said:

"Black Culture"? Africa Appreciation?????

Don't you mean two different ones? Perhaps American African American culture?

I apologize for being a jerk, but the title of this thread ignorantly lacks. Looking at this I feel like I'm lookin at a 4th grade teacher's day lesson in Black History month from 1981.

And Africa has 50 countries so which culture in general are you speaking of?

I don't mean no disrespect or nothin'. I'm talking about things people might admire of both African American culture (i.e the music) and/or African culture. No specific nation of Africa is really necessary. If there's something about one you fancy, you post it. I personally like many aspects of both Traditional African and African American cultures.

This is a pretty generalized thread.

I'll just say...it's a salute to black culture in general, whether straight from Africa or from America.

KatSkrizzle said:

"Black Culture"? Africa Appreciation?????

Don't you mean two different ones? Perhaps American African American culture?

I apologize for being a jerk, but the title of this thread ignorantly lacks. Looking at this I feel like I'm lookin at a 4th grade teacher's day lesson in Black History month from 1981.

And Africa has 50 countries so which culture in general are you speaking of?

hee hee... she did make a distinction between traditional and 'modern' culture... i saw it as two different things, which ultimately intersect once in a while, depending on who you speak to.

in so many parts of the world a connection to the motherland is not made (either due to european colonialism or otherwise), and for all intents and purposes (aside from the most famous example of the dutch who reside in south africa), is considered a 'black' continent. so i don't see the thread as ignorant at all.

you're not being a jerk, you feel how you feel. we definitely are not a monolithic people. many times when we speak of the motherland and her traditions (such as dance), it's usually about west africa, since many of us stem from there when we were shipped here against our will. also, when speaking about language and dialect, many people are only aware of kiswahili, which is spoken in tanzania, and not in, say, morocco. and zulu is spoken in south africa.

as far as i know, the motherland also has 53 nations...

africa is the land where we all stem from; however, our range of experience varies so much, due to migration, colonialism, etc.

africa ranges from the latin american, hatian, the caribbean, indian, italian experiences... from the gullah peoples to the moors. this is why i DO think a thread like this has the potential to expand. and why i think you should post your experiences. thanks.

MJJstudent said:

KatSkrizzle said:

"Black Culture"? Africa Appreciation?????

Don't you mean two different ones? Perhaps American African American culture?

I apologize for being a jerk, but the title of this thread ignorantly lacks. Looking at this I feel like I'm lookin at a 4th grade teacher's day lesson in Black History month from 1981.

And Africa has 50 countries so which culture in general are you speaking of?

hee hee... she did make a distinction between traditional and 'modern' culture... i saw it as two different things, which ultimately intersect once in a while, depending on who you speak to.

in so many parts of the world a connection to the motherland is not made (either due to european colonialism or otherwise), and for all intents and purposes (aside from the most famous example of the dutch who reside in south africa), is considered a 'black' continent. so i don't see the thread as ignorant at all.

you're not being a jerk, you feel how you feel. we definitely are not a monolithic people. many times when we speak of the motherland and her traditions (such as dance), it's usually about west africa, since many of us stem from there when we were shipped here against our will. also, when speaking about language and dialect, many people are only aware of kiswahili, which is spoken in tanzania, and not in, say, morocco. and zulu is spoken in south africa.

as far as i know, the motherland also has 53 nations...

africa is the land where we all stem from; however, our range of experience varies so much, due to migration, colonialism, etc.

africa ranges from the latin american, hatian, the caribbean, indian, italian experiences... from the gullah peoples to the moors. this is why i DO think a thread like this has the potential to expand. and why i think you should post your experiences. thanks.

Exactly. That's the angle I was going for...

ThruTheEyesOfWonder said:

MJJstudent said:

hee hee... she did make a distinction between traditional and 'modern' culture... i saw it as two different things, which ultimately intersect once in a while, depending on who you speak to.

in so many parts of the world a connection to the motherland is not made (either due to european colonialism or otherwise), and for all intents and purposes (aside from the most famous example of the dutch who reside in south africa), is considered a 'black' continent. so i don't see the thread as ignorant at all.

you're not being a jerk, you feel how you feel. we definitely are not a monolithic people. many times when we speak of the motherland and her traditions (such as dance), it's usually about west africa, since many of us stem from there when we were shipped here against our will. also, when speaking about language and dialect, many people are only aware of kiswahili, which is spoken in tanzania, and not in, say, morocco. and zulu is spoken in south africa.

as far as i know, the motherland also has 53 nations...

africa is the land where we all stem from; however, our range of experience varies so much, due to migration, colonialism, etc.

africa ranges from the latin american, hatian, the caribbean, indian, italian experiences... from the gullah peoples to the moors. this is why i DO think a thread like this has the potential to expand. and why i think you should post your experiences. thanks.

Exactly. That's the angle I was going for...

i figured as much.

Could we have just one discussion free of finger wagging, give the benefit of the doubt and understand the thread to include the continent as well as the diaspora?

Anyhoo, here's a powerful song from my favorite african musician, Hugh Masekela. The horn on this number is exquisite and the chorus always gives me chills...very soul stirring.

Speaking of African art . . . I recently discovered an artist from Ghana named Prince Duncan Williams. He uses silks to create jazz inspired pieces. I swear those Ghanaians rule textiles. All the ones I know in Dallas work in fashion or are tailors. Even my baby daddy menswear designer Ozwald Boateng is from Ghana.

Anyway here's some of Prince's stuff. I gotta get me some of this.

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p5.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p6.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p7.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p4.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p3.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p1.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p2.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 4/24/11 18:21pm]

LOIS MAILOU JONES

[img:$uid]http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i9/jgascot/lois-mailou-jones.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i9/jgascot/lois.jpg[/img:$uid]

SCNDLS said:

Speaking of African art . . . I recently discovered an artist from Ghana named Prince Duncan Williams. He uses silks to create jazz inspired pieces. I swear those Ghanaians rule textiles. All the ones I know in Dallas work in fashion or are tailors. Even my baby daddy menswear designer Ozwald Boateng is from Ghana.

Anyway here's some of Prince's stuff. I gotta get me some of this.

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p6.jpg[/img:$uid]

Love this one!

SCNDLS said:

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p7.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 4/24/11 18:21pm]

That's incredible. I want it.

The Marvin and Tammi vid for 'Ain't No Mountain High Enough' is just the cutest music video ever. Marvin's handsome as anything and Tammi's cute as a button.

babynoz said:

SCNDLS said:

Speaking of African art . . . I recently discovered an artist from Ghana named Prince Duncan Williams. He uses silks to create jazz inspired pieces. I swear those Ghanaians rule textiles. All the ones I know in Dallas work in fashion or are tailors. Even my baby daddy menswear designer Ozwald Boateng is from Ghana.

Anyway here's some of Prince's stuff. I gotta get me some of this.

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p6.jpg[/img:$uid]

Love this one!

Amazing huh??? I want to see video of him doing this cuz it's amazing to me that it's actually silk material and not paint. I bet it looks 1000% more vivid in person.

I can't believe I just tripped over him while perusing the site of a gallery I buy from. I'm kinda annoyed that I was actually in the gallery in vegas last week and they didn't have a single one of his works up nor did they mention him to me. I woulda prolly bought one on the spot. Dude is the TRUTH!

Some of Prince's work

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p12.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p11.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p10.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p9.jpg[/img:$uid]

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p8.jpg[/img:$uid]

Loving those yellows and oranges. Must look amazing in person, all shimmering in silk.

babynoz said:

SCNDLS said:

Speaking of African art . . . I recently discovered an artist from Ghana named Prince Duncan Williams. He uses silks to create jazz inspired pieces. I swear those Ghanaians rule textiles. All the ones I know in Dallas work in fashion or are tailors. Even my baby daddy menswear designer Ozwald Boateng is from Ghana.

Anyway here's some of Prince's stuff. I gotta get me some of this.

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p6.jpg[/img:$uid]

Love this one!

OMG I do too!!!

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p13.jpg[/img:$uid]

I think this one's my fave

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p14.jpg[/img:$uid]

Fauxie said:

Loving those yellows and oranges. Must look amazing in person, all shimmering in silk.

Fauxie said:

SCNDLS said:

[img:$uid]http://i807.photobucket.com/albums/yy360/cynda319/p7.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 4/24/11 18:21pm]

That's incredible. I want it.

OMG! I love it! I want it!

TY!!! for this thread... I love learning about new artists I never heard of before...

paintedlady said:

TY!!! for this thread... I love learning about new artists I never heard of before...

Oh you're welcome!!

This is a learning experience for me too! I love see the new art, and hearing music I haven't heard before...

I love it...

SCNDLS said:

babynoz said:

Love this one!

Amazing huh??? I want to see video of him doing this cuz it's amazing to me that it's actually silk material and not paint. I bet it looks 1000% more vivid in person.

I can't believe I just tripped over him while perusing the site of a gallery I buy from. I'm kinda annoyed that I was actually in the gallery in vegas last week and they didn't have a single one of his works up nor did they mention him to me. I woulda prolly bought one on the spot. Dude is the TRUTH!

If I saw them all in person I don't know how I would be able to choose!

I have several pieces of Haitian art, paintings, carvings and a couple of sculptures but I'm not a serious collector though.

paintedlady said:

TY!!! for this thread... I love learning about new artists I never heard of before...

Me too...go back and listen to the Hugh Masekela song I posted! He's not new but he's awesome.

babynoz said:

SCNDLS said:

Amazing huh??? I want to see video of him doing this cuz it's amazing to me that it's actually silk material and not paint. I bet it looks 1000% more vivid in person.

I can't believe I just tripped over him while perusing the site of a gallery I buy from. I'm kinda annoyed that I was actually in the gallery in vegas last week and they didn't have a single one of his works up nor did they mention him to me. I woulda prolly bought one on the spot. Dude is the TRUTH!

If I saw them all in person I don't know how I would be able to choose!

I have several pieces of Haitian art, paintings, carvings and a couple of sculptures but I'm not a serious collector though.

Sensory overload fa sho. And I think they're really BIG pieces at least 3-4 feet. Yeah, I gotta find him.

my travels along the Sahara in Mauritania and Senegal are among my most treasured memories. i cannot possibly recommend Africa enough as a destination. i hope to see more of the continent before i die.