Friday:
went to Eritrean hip-hop show. Now, for those of you who have never been to an Eritrean hip-hop show (Carol, u been?) it is prettttty awesome. Actually, just the pre-show is awesome: the DJ's play all the latest Kikuyu club jams, and there's a series of "amateur night"-type performances by Swahili rappers. Kikuyu, btw, is the largest tribe/ethnic group in Kenya, and for some background, let my pause here to excerpt Michela Wrong:
"[the Kikuyu] hail themselves as 'the Jews of Kenya,' envied and hated in equal measure for that entrepreneurial zeal. But there's a difference: Europe's Jews never combined economic influence with political power. The Kikuyu have done just that, providing two of Kenya's three presidents. And their current predicament can be traced to that double-fisted grip on the nation-state and the resentment it stirs among their compatriots."
Muy interesante, no? Anyway, the headliner at the Eritrean club was this dude named, "Nameless" (don't ask). I asked one of my co-workers about him and she was like, "he used to be good a few years ago. Kind of like your Snoop Dogg." Ouch. "Now he's married to one of our best female singers, kind of like your Jay-Z." Nice.
We ate at the Eritrean place beforehand, and I must admit that i can discern no difference between Ethiopian food and Eritrean food, as appalling as that may be to some of my Ethiopian/Eritrean friends. my apologies. the DJ was really killin it tho, and i could tell even without knowing the songs, which is how i could tell in the first place, u know? the crowd was just INTO it. unfortunately, we left before seeing Nameless bc it was 1 am and he still hadn't come on and one of our friends was sick, but not rap sick, sick sick.
Saturday:
Real quick: I tried to go to the office to do some work, but alas, no powa ("no one electric company should have all that POWER"). Instead, I went to my first Kikuyu wedding ("nice day for...a Kikuyu weddding"). What was funny was that i planned to go to Nairobi's Hebrew Congregation Synagogue, but ended-up instead at St. Paul's University Catholic Church (official motto: "rise and evangelize." I'm not making that up). oh well. at least i was with "the Jews of Kenya."
the wedding had everything a wedding should have: DJ, cake, and drunk uncles making speeches and having to have their mics cut off (five minutes into his monologue he literally said, "wait. I wanna say something." haha. everyone was loving it, except maybe his wife). there were also women in incredible beehive-size African hats, which made me think about church-hats in Af-Am churches in the States. there was also outdoor congo-line dancing, which made me wonder if "congo-lines" are from the Congo.
that's pretty much it.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Gnong Hills
sorry to cross-reference, but just made a new FB album with pics from Gnong hills. there's like 80 pictures, and the blog only lets u upload 5 at time, ergo...
Thursday, July 21, 2011
"Kitengella, Kitengella, Kitengella"
sung to the tune of "Black and Yellow"
pictures from the glass blowing factory/artists colony, Kitengella. when looking at the blazing infernos, keep in mind that they were playing the Supremes anthology.
this became a wine glass
love the col-ours
some like it hot
Justin, Devon, Brett: roommates past and present
color me bad
boom
who dat?
pictures from the glass blowing factory/artists colony, Kitengella. when looking at the blazing infernos, keep in mind that they were playing the Supremes anthology.
this became a wine glass
love the col-ours
some like it hot
Justin, Devon, Brett: roommates past and present
color me bad
boom
who dat?
Action Shots
because i have friends who are truly gifted photographers, i thought i'd post their lens' version of what went down. a two-part installment. this is Mt. Longanot
touch the sky
"who's that guyyy...la la la la, la la la la"
jump around
insert academic post-colonial reference here
"Finalllly.....The Rock, HAS COME BACK to Mt. Longonot, Kenya!!!!!"
touch the sky
"who's that guyyy...la la la la, la la la la"
jump around
insert academic post-colonial reference here
"Finalllly.....The Rock, HAS COME BACK to Mt. Longonot, Kenya!!!!!"
Monday, July 18, 2011
Mt. Longonot
I climbed Kenya's Mt. Longonot with some friends this weekend on three hours sleep (that time difference will getcha when u trying to talk to the States) but it was all good. it was more than good. proof below, in picture form.
Other highlights of the wknd included my first Shabbat in Africa, courtesy of friend and fellow JDS alum Jon Lerner (man can cook), and dialoguing with some Kenyan friends about race and racism in America. really interesting
Carol comin thru in two weeks. oh yes
Other highlights of the wknd included my first Shabbat in Africa, courtesy of friend and fellow JDS alum Jon Lerner (man can cook), and dialoguing with some Kenyan friends about race and racism in America. really interesting
Carol comin thru in two weeks. oh yes
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Nairobi goings-ons
query: Why haven't I been writing more about Kenya? I've never been to Sub-Saharan Africa before, I've never lived in Nairobi before, and yet I'm writing about things that I could write about from my basement in suburban Maryland (eg, Jay-Z and The Supremes). The short answer is that almost all the incredible things that happen here occur in my office at work. But there are some good times outside the office, too, so lemme give a quick run down on those:
Yesterday I went to Kintengella Glass, a artist's workshop/glass-making studio about 45 min from where I stay at. It was fantastical in the fairy-tale sense; there were sculptures of lizards the size of a car, the path was speckled with bubbles of colored glass stones, and the buildings looked like someone had stolen the architectural plans from a community of Keebler elves.
Inside, there were about 6 Kenyan dudes making wine glasses, vases, tumblers, and other fancy glass things I don't know the names of. And wouldn't you know it...they were blasting ENTIRE Diana Ross and The Supremes albums as they ran about from one blazing furnace to the next. It was kinda really, really dope. Watching the artistry was really captivating too; there's a lot of teamwork and finesse and intensity to the process. Like, at one point someone dropped one of the pieces they were working on and everyone stopped what they were doing and ran over to try and save. I felt like I was watching an arts-and-crafts version of ER. I was also told that one of the guys there was "the only Samburu glass-blower in the world." Given that the Saburu tribe consists of about 60,000 people, or so I'm told, I believe it.
Besides being transported to a magical glass-blowing world (literally transported, actually. we had to drive for about 20 min over straight rocks through a Masai village), there have been some "interesting" cultural exchanges here as well. Unfortunately, a lot of them have revolved around money. So, the security guards at my building are funny dudes, and I like to crack jokes w/them when we see each other. But then they're like, "so when are you gonna bring me some food? I'm hungry." and i'm like, "ahhhh...maybe later?" and since then I've given them some fruit but I don't really want the relationship to be about that, u know?
One time me and security fellas were talking and this random dude came up to me and asked for money. I was like "sorry man." and then i turned to one of the guys after he left and he was like, "yea that sucks. so, when are you gonna bring me some food?" But it hasn't spoiled anything yet, and I still really like those guys.
Last time I took a taxi, I talked with the cabbie about racial profiling and economic inequality in Kenya. then he ended the conversation with, "so since you are Muzungu (white foreigner), I will overcharge you for this ride."
July 4th here was fun. I chilled with some of my Muzungu friends. Pics below.
Yesterday I went to Kintengella Glass, a artist's workshop/glass-making studio about 45 min from where I stay at. It was fantastical in the fairy-tale sense; there were sculptures of lizards the size of a car, the path was speckled with bubbles of colored glass stones, and the buildings looked like someone had stolen the architectural plans from a community of Keebler elves.
Inside, there were about 6 Kenyan dudes making wine glasses, vases, tumblers, and other fancy glass things I don't know the names of. And wouldn't you know it...they were blasting ENTIRE Diana Ross and The Supremes albums as they ran about from one blazing furnace to the next. It was kinda really, really dope. Watching the artistry was really captivating too; there's a lot of teamwork and finesse and intensity to the process. Like, at one point someone dropped one of the pieces they were working on and everyone stopped what they were doing and ran over to try and save. I felt like I was watching an arts-and-crafts version of ER. I was also told that one of the guys there was "the only Samburu glass-blower in the world." Given that the Saburu tribe consists of about 60,000 people, or so I'm told, I believe it.
Besides being transported to a magical glass-blowing world (literally transported, actually. we had to drive for about 20 min over straight rocks through a Masai village), there have been some "interesting" cultural exchanges here as well. Unfortunately, a lot of them have revolved around money. So, the security guards at my building are funny dudes, and I like to crack jokes w/them when we see each other. But then they're like, "so when are you gonna bring me some food? I'm hungry." and i'm like, "ahhhh...maybe later?" and since then I've given them some fruit but I don't really want the relationship to be about that, u know?
One time me and security fellas were talking and this random dude came up to me and asked for money. I was like "sorry man." and then i turned to one of the guys after he left and he was like, "yea that sucks. so, when are you gonna bring me some food?" But it hasn't spoiled anything yet, and I still really like those guys.
Last time I took a taxi, I talked with the cabbie about racial profiling and economic inequality in Kenya. then he ended the conversation with, "so since you are Muzungu (white foreigner), I will overcharge you for this ride."
July 4th here was fun. I chilled with some of my Muzungu friends. Pics below.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
"Never Change"
A highly underrated track from the quintessential Jay album, "The Blueprint." Features a pre-fame Kanye West. Was just listening to this today and one of the verses caught me:
"we keep weed to smoke/
we all fish, better teach ya folk/
give em money to eat, then next week he's broke.
cause when you sleep, he’s reaching for your throat/
word on the street, you reap what you sow"
There's a lot I like about this.
Exhibit A: It exudes the dynamic between "the sacred and the profane" that Cornel West ascribes to Blues. The Biblical allusion "you reap what you sow" right after he talks about smokin weed. And more specifically, right after he talks about "we" smokin weed. That's one of my favorite aspects of rap: that it speaks collectively. So that when Jay does somethin, its because thats what people do; He just happens to do it better than everyone else. If I had to describe the one idea that encapsulates Jay's style, that's it. And what's great about that is that it is both simple and blameless: you would do this too if you could, but you can't. at least not like me. I'm peerless and innocent at the same time. so forgive me my success.
I also like the idea of the social imperative of collective liberation. You can see that idea expressed as: "if you don't teach people to help themselves, they're not gonna have shit. if they don't have shit, they're not gonna be happy. if they're not happy, then they gonna come for you, as someone who does have shit. so it's in your best interest to help them help themselves."
This reminds me of a recent exchange I had with Tej where this quote came up:
"If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Lila Watson
I think that's put more optimistically than Jay puts it, but the idea is the same. MLK's "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Finally, I love the use of the ancient Chinese proverb "teach a man to fish" in the context of the "word on the street." It just speaks to the universality of classic wisdom/common sense, and the philosophy you can sometimes hear in rappers if you keep listenin past "weed to smoke."
"we keep weed to smoke/
we all fish, better teach ya folk/
give em money to eat, then next week he's broke.
cause when you sleep, he’s reaching for your throat/
word on the street, you reap what you sow"
There's a lot I like about this.
Exhibit A: It exudes the dynamic between "the sacred and the profane" that Cornel West ascribes to Blues. The Biblical allusion "you reap what you sow" right after he talks about smokin weed. And more specifically, right after he talks about "we" smokin weed. That's one of my favorite aspects of rap: that it speaks collectively. So that when Jay does somethin, its because thats what people do; He just happens to do it better than everyone else. If I had to describe the one idea that encapsulates Jay's style, that's it. And what's great about that is that it is both simple and blameless: you would do this too if you could, but you can't. at least not like me. I'm peerless and innocent at the same time. so forgive me my success.
I also like the idea of the social imperative of collective liberation. You can see that idea expressed as: "if you don't teach people to help themselves, they're not gonna have shit. if they don't have shit, they're not gonna be happy. if they're not happy, then they gonna come for you, as someone who does have shit. so it's in your best interest to help them help themselves."
This reminds me of a recent exchange I had with Tej where this quote came up:
"If you have come here to help me, then you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together." -Lila Watson
I think that's put more optimistically than Jay puts it, but the idea is the same. MLK's "injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Finally, I love the use of the ancient Chinese proverb "teach a man to fish" in the context of the "word on the street." It just speaks to the universality of classic wisdom/common sense, and the philosophy you can sometimes hear in rappers if you keep listenin past "weed to smoke."
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)