ERYKHA BADU... A MESSAGE IN A SONG/VIDEO...

Erykha

"They play it safe/Are quick to assassinate what they do not understand" Badu. Watch Erykha Badu's new video for her single "Window Seat". It was filmed in one take, guerilla style in Downtown Dallas, Texas where Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.
Enjoy!


Erykha Badu "Window Seat"

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Tuk Ham Cultural Festival and the Nok Culture

Maali will showcase our clothing at the annual Tuk Ham Festival in Kwoi, Kaduna State Nigeria.The Tuk Ham festival is a cultural event which takes place in Kwoi every year around Easter and has been going on for decades. It showcases the rich history of the Ham people of Kaduna State Nigeria.

Tuk-Ham annual festival is a fusion of both “Ku” and “Fain” festivals which were known to be celebrated by the forebears of the Ham (Jaba) people. It features a lot of traditional and cultural displays, traditional dances, and many other processions in Kwoi which is just about 187 kilometres from Kaduna.The two-day ceremony is normally preceded by a symposium and Tir-Ham (Miss Jaba) which will be on April 2, 2010 and is rounded up with cultural displays and a Gala night on April 3, 2010.

Nok Terracota Head: Female Statue

Age: 900 to 1500 years

 

Nok Terracota Head

The Nok culture appeared in Nigeria around 1000 B.C. This region lies in Central Nigeria. The culture’s social system is thought to have been highly advanced. The Nok culture was considered to be the earliest sub-saharan producer of life-sized Terracotta. Nok culture terracottas are heralded as the prime evidence of the refinement of African civilizations. The population was about 2000-4000 people.

Nok Culture: Evidence shows the Nok people had knowledge of iron smelting and adorned themselves with tin and stone beads, earrings, nose rings and bracelets. The Nok Culture is dated between 500 B.C. and 200 A.D.

Although every Nok head is unique, certain stylistic traits are found throughout. Triangular eyes and perforated pupils, noses, mouths, and ears combine to depict men and women with bold, abstracted features. Perhaps the most striking aspects of Nok sculptures are the elaborately detailed hairstyles and jewelry that adorn many of the figures. The variety, inventiveness, and beauty of their design is a beguiling record of cultivated devotion to body ornamentation.

Citation

Department of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. "Nok Terracottas (500 B.C.–200 A.D.)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nok/hd_nok.htm (October 2000)

For sponsorship and attendance contact:

Chocolate City Group
9 Kampala Street,
off Adetokumboh Ademola Way
Wuse 2,Abuja

or email:
chocolatecitynig@yahoo.co.uk

Maali is proud to be a part of Tuk Ham Festival 2010

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Naija Soul Sistahs (the conclusion)

I hope you all have enjoyed reading about our Naija Soul Sistahs.The music, the people, their style... They are an inspirational bunch and their music tells a story... That is what we aim to bring and encapsulate in our summer range of t-shirts. Soul sisterhood, unity in Nigeria (amidst all that is happening), strength in numbers, perseverance and a "we will survive no matter what" attitude...

Nigeria has been in a state of turmoil for a while now, but because being Nigerian is a state of our minds... not necessarily the geographical locations we find ourselves in, Nigeria still Rocks! We are Maali (blessed), we will stay united and together we will overcome!

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Naija Soul Sistahs (part 4)

Ayo

Ayọ (born Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin on 14 September 1980) in Frechen near Cologne, Germany is an Afro German singer-songwriter. She uses the Yoruba translation Ayọ or Ayo. of her first name Joy. 

Her debut album 'Joyful', which was first released in 2006, reached double platinum status in France, Platinum in Germany and Poland, Gold status in Switz, Italy and Greece. The album was released in the United States on 20 November 2007 by Interscope Records.

The president of UNICEF France, Jacques Hintzy, announced on 4 February 2009 that the singer was named patron of UNICEF to promote the right to education for all children in the world. 

Ayọ was born as the fourth child of a Nigerian father and Romani mother from Romania in Frechen, German 

but as a baby lived for a short time in Nigeria. When she was about six years old her mother became addicted to heroin and spent some time in jail. After her parents divorced, she and two of her siblings spent periods of time in care and with foster families. When she was fourteen she was considered old enough by the authorities to live with her father again.

Her musical taste was influenced by her father's large selection of albums which included Pink Floyd, Fela Kuti, Donny Hathaway, Jimmy Cliff, and Bob Marley. Her father, who worked part-time as a DJ while studying engineering in Germany, discovered her singing talent and he recorded a first demo tape with her in a studio and allowed her to drop out of school at the age of eighteen.

To know more about Ayo and her music, visit her website @ 

http://www.ayomusic.com/

Listen to Ayo's music here: Change

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