Came across this video by Pope. Apparently it came out in 2010, wondering why I have not seen it before now. He sampledFela‘s 'Shuffering & Shimiling', so its like a modern take on funky Afro beat with a bit of jazzy feel to it.. Love it, really nice video. Watch Below:
So I was browsing randomly and I ended up on the http://www.the4acesdate.com/ blog. They had this post on pictures from runways in the 90's with a link to where they got the pictures from. I quickly clicked on the link and found myself in heaven(lol). Almost every picture was unique and amazing at the same time. The designers were really creative. Their creativity had no bounds. Everything inspired them. It seems like people used to put in a lot more effort to create pieces that reflected them and pieces that they could look back and still be proud of (not wonder, hmmm what was I thinking then).
Anyhu..I am going to be posting something very soon about art in past and art in the present with relation to talent or the lack thereof, so watch out for it..For now though, I will put up pictures of some of the outfits that really moved me and some of the really creative ones. Most of the pictures are Haute Couture. Although the ready-to-wear (prêt-à-porter) has become more popular and kinda made Haute Couture irrelevant, I am still a big fan of it and hope it gets revived (at least for the creativity). Linda will be posting something about that soon.
P.S. Most of the models modelling the clothes were actually supermodels (how cool is that)?
Ok! this is really random but I had to share- was in a Zara store today and heard this song that I fell in love with. Wasn't too sure about asking any sale assistant, so when we got home I went straight to Google and typed out "A girl saying sensation-Song I heard from a store" Fortunately for me, some people were asking about the same song too, although they had heard it in an H&M store. Anyway to cut the long story short just listen to it below. Can't help sounding cheesy but the song is just "SENSATIONAL"
I am excited again! And yes you guessed right, did not win the lottery but got a T-shirt and buttons from Uncultured Persons.
Uncultured Persons is the brainchild of Aminchi Asake.They create quality T-shirts that are unique and influenced by African culture, lifestyle, art, and music. I got the witch doctor tee yesterday in the mail and wore it today to the market at Kirkgate and I got some nice compliments.
Lagos style week is a fashion event aimed at providing a stage for new and independent designers in a real authentic African look.The show will be taking place atThe Incubator Victoria island Oniru Estate, on the 26th and 27th of November and will display the works (10 design pieces) from 5 established and 20 emerging designers. The event will take place on Saturday 3 PM – 9 PM and Sunday 5 PM – 10:30 PM. The tickets cost N5,000 for regular (dinner ticket) and N10,000 (get to test drive a Porsche car for a day) and each ticket entitles you to the pre-party, back stage, red carpet access and lots more. Dress code is for Saturday is Casual Wear/ Sleek Fashion Wear, while for Sunday, Evening Wear.
Maali/ Leeds Skyline
Maali in collaboration with Leeds Skyline presents Styling-'The Elements of Style' on the 27th of July 2011. At the Leeds Skyline Service, 4th floor Gallery House, 131 The Headrow.
The 45 minute session will discuss the elements of style and how you can dress for your body type, look the part in any event, mix and match African clothing with western style and much more...
Leeds Skyline provides support services for anyone in Leeds living with or affected by HIV. They aim to help people living with HIV to take control of their lives with the knowledge and skills to make decisions that are appropriate and also live healthy and satisfying lives, free from stigma and discrimination.
Their prevention services work with individuals, community groups and organisations to raise awareness within African communities, challenge stigma and discrimination and increase access to services. To know more about Leeds Skyline or to access any of their services visit their website at
Bez Idakula (November 10, 1983) is an alternative singer, songwriter and guitarist from Nassarawa State, Nigeria.
Bez has opened for international artistes, Asa, Angie Stone and Yolanda Brown. I first heard his song on the radio in Nigeria and was blown away. I am not really a big fan of the hip hop/rap scene in Nigeria (some exceptions to this rule) so when I heard his song 'Zuciya Daya', I thought it was a breath of fresh air and figured all hope was not lost in the home front for me.
It meant I could enjoy my kinda music too in Nigeria, granted Asa has been there for me, but it meant she was the only one until I discovered this new sound. Then his music video 'More you' came out -posted it on this blog a while back. Now I hear the album called 'Super Sun' which features the songs ‘Zuciya Daya’ – (which means One Heart in Hausa), ‘More You’ ‘Stop Pretending’ and the self titled ‘Super Sun' will be released on Sunday the 24th of July.
The video ‘More You’ was recently nominated for the ‘Video of the Year’ awards at the forthcoming Nigerian Entertainment Awards New York.
Expect more blog posts from me when the album comes out, excited and can't wait...
To finish off on our legend series, is our very own Fela Anikulapo Kuti and this quote by the herald sun encapsulates it all:
"Imagine Che Guevara and Bob Marley rolled into one person and you get a sense of Nigerian musician and activist Fela Kuti." Herald Sun, February 2011
Fela Anikulapo Kuti (15 October 1938 — 2 August 1997), or simply Fela, was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.
Fela was born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria into a middle-class family. His mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was a feminist activist in the anti-colonial movement and his father, Reverend Israel Oludotun Ransome-Kuti, a Protestant minister and school principal, was the first president of the Nigerian Union of Teachers.His brothers, Beko Ransome-Kuti and Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, both medical doctors, are well known in Nigeria. Fela was a first cousin to the Nigerian writer and Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, the first African to win a Nobel Prize for Literature.
Fela was sent to London in 1958 to study medicine but decided to study music instead at the Trinity College of Music. While there, he formed the band Koola Lobitos, playing a fusion of jazz and highlife.
Fela also changed his middle name to Anikulapo (meaning "he who carries death in his pouch"),stating that his original middle name of Ransome was aslave name. Fela's music became very popular among the Nigerian public and Africans in general. He made the decision to sing in Pidgin English so that his music could be enjoyed by individuals all over Africa, where the local languages spoken are very diverse and numerous.
The musical style performed by Fela Kuti is called Afrobeat, which is a complex fusion of Jazz, Funk, Ghanaian/Nigerian High-life, psychedelic rock, and traditional West African chants and rhythms. Kuti thought that the most important thing for Africans to fight is European cultural imperialism, Kuti being a supporter of traditional religions and lifestyles.The American Black Power movement influenced Fela's political views. He was also a supporter of Pan-Africanism and socialism, and called for a united, democratic African republic. He was a candid supporter of human rights, and many of his songs are direct attacks against dictatorships, specifically the militaristic governments of Nigeria in the 1970s and 1980s. He was also a social commentator, and he criticized his fellow Africans (especially the upper class) for betraying traditional African culture.
"Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn."-Gore Vidal.
This blog is about styling, the way we live, the things we do, the things we love, and the things we say...
