The Displaced African » Africa

Top 49 African Musicians

Mwangi — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 14:07:28 +0000

Image by none other than WhiteAfrican.com

Why Have I Created This Post?

NB: I wrote this post about 3-4 months ago, and it has been simmering in my archives for quite a while. Yesterday I realized, this probably wasn’t the type of post that should remain in the archives, ….so enjoy

Each week I try increasing traffic to my blog by attempting new means. Some time ago I realized that my blog and I have been blessed because our readers have promoted us by word-of-mouth. Media appearances on this blog are examples of our good fortune.

But How to Encourage and Advance Word-of-Mouth Promotion?

I believe that list articles are “cool” and that just about everyone from lands of the ebony-skinned appreciates and loves music.

So I decided to experiment with an article of such format and I hope that you, my esteemed readers, would be kind enough to spread the word among all your friends on Facebook or through email. However, do that ONLY IF you think that it is enjoyable, entertaining, informative and worth discussing and sharing.

And for that I thank you in advance.

1) Zangalewa

I have no idea what this Cameroonian marching band was talking about and neither do millions of people throughout Africa. That, however, did not stop us from absolutely loving and adoring them — a true testament to the fact that good music has no linguistic barriers.

The following words were a huge part of millions of African children’s lives,

“Zamina! Zamina! Zamina!
Tibeee!Zangalewa!”

2) Nameless
It all began when a man by the name of David Mathenge tried to compete in a Kenyan radio contest but could not think of a name for himself. So, to be named or to remain “Nameless” was the big question? Since then he had produced an endless stream of hits, one successful year after another and so on and on. You have to admit that an artist is gifted when blatant people such as Jamali have the audacity to steal his song and it still becomes a hit.

“Nameless” David Mathenge is also, in fact, a magnificent live performer.

3) Malaika

One of the most successful singing bands in African history is Malaika. They are world-class vocalists who continually take their Kwaito beat to the top of musical charts, and their legendary live performances wow audiences.

All the hype and eloquent accolades you have ever heard about Malaika are well deserved and then some. But do not merely take my word for it. Check out the track below and I challenge you to look me straight in the eye and tell me that they are not talented.

Check out their bios here.

4) Fela Kuti
All an entertainer ever really needs is one great gimmick to perpetually be cemented in the minds of his or her listeners.

Fela Kuti was born and raised and later made his fame and was tremendously revered in Nigeria. However, younger Africans outside of Nigeria will forever remember him as the man who took the expression, “Bang! Bang!” (no guns are involved here, by the way) and turned it into an international musical hit.

Fela Kuti, the Afrobeat legend, is one of the most influential musicians in history with eccentricity to match his fame.

5) Kanda Bongo Man
As one of many soukouss musicians on this list, Kanda Bongo Man has now fallen off the charts to make room for newer artists but he was definitely a multi-faceted icon in the past. To young Africans, this singing and dancing star from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) was what Michael Jackson is to the young in America. To women, Mr. “kwassa Kwassa” was a sex symbol.

Check out his Wikipedia page here.

6) Youssou N’Dour
He is one of the few African artists who has managed to transcend the beautiful sub-continent and become a true international superstar. If you are having a large global event and you want an African megastar, call on N’Dour.

The extent of his success is marked by topping the charts in the mecca of music, the United States, when he produced the track “7 Seconds” with Neneh Cherry.

Check out his official website.

7) Mr. Nice
The landscape of East African music can not be spoken of without mentioning the sweet, mellifluous Bongo flavored “dish.” With his native language being Kiswahili, Mr. Nice is a legend who rocked everyone in East Africa from Dar es Salam to Kampala.

This talented ex-gardener from Zanzibar is included in this article because he is one of the pioneers of the “Takeu style” that is so prevalent in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. His lyrics, such as “Kuku kapanda baiskeli” which literally means the hen climbed the bicycle, are misunderstood by listeners outside of Tanzania but they were, nevertheless, appreciated for their humor and entertainment factor.

8 ) Miriam Makeba
The grandmother of African music and quite possibly the most successful person on the list, Mrs. Makeba is famous for, among other things, being one of the musical voices against Apartheid. In addition, together with Harry Belafonted, she is credited for creating an international hit out of the Kiswahili song “Malaika” as well as her own billboard chart topper, “Pata Pata”.

Exceptfor Mobutu, she has the longest name I have ever seen. Check out her Wikipedia page here.

Below is, in my opinion, one of the greatest tracks Makeba had ever made.

9) Koffi Olomide

The DRC man with the velvety deep voice whom I will forever remember for teaching me an alternative use for handkerchiefs — pull them out and wave them from side to side as you slowly ride the lingala beat.

He has had an abundance of hits including “Andrada” and “Effrakata”, and is yet another legendary musician who solidified the reputation and popularity of soukous/rumba/lingala.

Since I do not speak his language, I can enjoy the music and the visual performance without being exposed to the content of his lyrics which are reputed to be quite vulgar.

10) 2face Idibia
This man made his reputation as one of sub-Sahara’s greats when he came out with the ode to African women entitled “African queen.” He has sold millions of albums in his home of Naija, topped charts throughout Africa and is one of the few artists to catch the eye of the Koras, Platinum success and MTV music awards, though of course the Kora meant the most .

Check out the remixed version of “African Queen.”

11) Angela Kidjo
This Benin songstress is another artist who far transcended the bounds of the African continent to become an international superstar. Her hits include “Agolo,” “Ayé,” and “Batonga.”

If you need an international African star to work with Joss Stone or open for Josh Groban, Angela may just be your answer.

Check out her Wikipedia page here.

12) Brenda Fassie

The late great Fassie is a legendary songstress who will be sorely missed not only in the shacks of South Africa but all over the world. This woman had a mesmerizing charisma that she brought to all her stage appearances. Her talent was only matched by her capriciousness and, at times, self-destructive behavior.

East and Central Africans will forever remember her for bridging the African gap by singing in Kiswahili in the track, “Nakupenda!”

13) Jua Cali
When in 2000 Jua Cali joined forces with a man named Clemo they did not just create a different sound, they created the Genge movement which defines a large segment of East African music. Although Genge lyrics fall far behind those of Shakespeare, their talents and ability to rock audiences all over the world are undeniable.

Jua Cali has been recognized by many awards committees widely spanning from Chaguo la Teeniez in Kenya to the MOBOs of London.

14) Magic System
Some recording artists have to build entire careers to be remembered as part of Africa’s soundtrack while others produce just one track that is so hot, that not only does everyone in Africa program it on their rewind selector to be listened to over and over again, but it is also recognized as an African classic around the globe.

Magic System managed to do just that with their song “Gauo” which has come to mean many things to many different people. In Kenya, for instance, this song is called “Taulo” which means towel.

15) Awilo Longomba
Awilo is another one of the bigger-than-life soukous artists who comes out of the DRC and sings lyrics which would probably not be sanctioned by my church leaders. In his videos, this artist has broken every fashion etiquette imaginable. But, having produced the hot tracks that Awilo had, redefining fashion is quite acceptable.

“Je ma pelle, comma tuta pelle.” Yes, my years of studying French were useless but you have to admit that you too learned some of it when Awilo released the track below.

16) STL

STL represents the type of artist who can only exist in this age of globalization because she has earned the admiration and love of the African community while living most of her life outside of Africa.

This young woman raps from Norway and embeds messages into her rhyming lyrics as is evident in her track “Makelele” which was released in the midst of the Kenyan election violence.

17) Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi
Until I landed in Australia I had never heard of Tuku. Once I did, it became clear that the man is a legend. A demi-deity in his land of Zimbabwe, Mtukudzi has had a long, prolific career as an artist, musician, social commentator and a political activist.

He has collaborated with younger African artists such as Eric Wainaina, and a ticket to one of his shows costs enough to feed an impoverished family for a long while.

Find more information on him at Tuku Music.

18) Kalamashaka

It is often said that “a man will never forget his first.” The people of East Africa will probably never forget these brothers who first came out of the ghettos of Kenya and brought to light a new form of art: Hip Hop in their national language Kiswahili. Every other Hip Hop artist who has since rapped in Kiswahili owes a debt to the pioneering of Kalamashaka who have done everything from recording in Sweden to working with international acts such as Dead Prez.

19) Papa Wemba
An absolute legend in the world of soukous, Papa is yet another musician who has transcended his art and became a phenomenon larger than any country or continent could contain. Papa Wemba will forever be special to me for his smooth, seductive and high pitched voice. Who would have ever thought that those three adjectives could go together when referring to a male vocalist?

He may have seen his share of hard times, but do not let that diminish your enjoyment and admiration for this great pioneer in the world of rumba.

20) Yvonne Chaka Chaka
This is yet another great South African artist who has been part of the soundtrack of millions of African youths.

Until I started researching this article, I hadn’t even realized that I had heard the song Umqombothi before. I am certain that many of you, outside of South Africa, will also recognize it although you may not know that it is Umqombothi that you are listening to. And, according to SABC3 , she is one of the greatest South Africans. Visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SABC3%27s_Great_South_Africans.

Check out her website which is appropriately called Princess of Africa. And, by the way, don’t you think she looks phenomenal in this picture?

21) African Americans

Africans have a real love-hate relationship with their cousins in the United States. You will rarely hear of Africans who traveled to the United States and came back with NO emotional reactions or even neutral ones toward their American brothaz and sistaz or niggaz and bitches, depending on who you talk to. They either absolutely love them or utterly despise them.

Furthermore, there is no denying that with the might of the American economy behind them, African Americans are probably the most powerful cultural force in human history — and not just in music and dance although their greatest prominence is undeniable in those areas. African Americans starting with the songs of slavery and the underground railroad and continuing on to the Negro spirituals, the Blues, the Jazz, the rock and roll all the way to the R&B and Hip Hop of today. Let us give credit where credit is due — our cousins are cultural champions.

22) Jose Chameleone
If you think that promoting the arts in primary and high schools is ridiculous, think again. And if you are still not convinced, Chameleone can very easily prove you wrong. Getting his own start in a school music competition, this Ugandan now sits at the peak of his success throughout East Africa. It all started at the turn of the millennium when he joined forces with Redsan (also on this list) to create the track Bageya.

One year later, he collaborated with the production powerhouse, Ogopa DJs, and recorded the mega Kiswahili hit, Mama Mia. Since then he has expanded and diversified to work with Swahili Nation, Bebe Cool and even moved further South and generated music for the Zimbambwan market.

23) Mandoza
Mduduzi Tshabalala was born in Soweto in 1978 and, according to an SABC poll, is ranked as the 77th greatest individual in South Africa.

His raspy voice has resulted in a multi-platinum status and a crossover appeal among white as well as black music lovers in South Africa. He has toured all over the world and even paid a visit to Australia.

24) E-sir:
He is quite possibly the most successful music artist that Kenya has ever spawned. E-sir is a native of the South C estate who distinguished himself from his fellow youth in Nairobi by taking command and acquiring fluency in Kiswahili, both on and off the mic.

He only released one album prior to his premature demise, but that album is an impressive collection of highly admired modern African music and had since become tremendously respected as well as commercially successful.

25) Lucky Dube
He is the greatest reggae musician to come out of Africa but was tragically gunned down in October of 2007. This artistic native of South Africa released deeply poignant and socioeconomically relevant music for more than 20 years.

Lucky Dude achieve something that only a truly great artist can — he gained respect and loving admiration of people from all over the world. Even American rapper Nas lamented his death when he addressed an extraordinarily diverse audience.

Check out his official site and below is a favorite of mine.

26) Sarafina
“Sarafina” started out as a stage show written by Mbongeni Ngema. The musical, which was based on the Soweto Uprisings of 1976, was eventually converted into a successful Hollywood movie of the same name.

Growing up, this movie made a huge impact on me as it did on many other youths. Countless children and adolescents around the world were heard singing “Freedom is coming tomorrow” in the early 1990s.

The Broadway show and the Hollywood movie made Leleti Khumalo a star.

Check out the Sarafina IMDB Page Here.

27) Watoto Children’s Choir

This group of young, impoverished youngsters from Uganda was assembled by Pastor’s Gary and Marilyn Skinner. Besides the entertainment factor, the Watoto Children’s Choir makes two significant statements:

1) A geopolitical statement and the relationship between Africa, its citizens, the Western world and foreign aide.

2) A simpler statement of fact that a group of young talented kids can sing and move adult audiences to tears.

28) Soweto Gospel Choir

I had the pleasure and good fortune to see this amazing troupe when they performed in Melbourne, Australia as part of their international tour. I had already displayed my groupie-love and expressed my admiration for the vocal talents of South Africans but my appreciation increased when I first saw the stage show, “Gumboots,” where the Gumboot dance was performed. To top it all off, the Soweto Gospel Choir heightened my demeanor to a state of utter awe. Today, I have no doubt that South African performers are head and shoulders above the rest of Africa.

Find their official website right here.

29) Akon

Why does he call himself the Polish Prince? Feel free to share your answer if you have one.

Akon is one of the few global superstars whose video, “Don’t Matter,” is the most watched videos in Youtube history (displayed below).

His life, his African heritage and roots, are completely out in the open and discussed often by many. I don’t think I need to go into too much detail about Akon — there is enough information about him out on the Internet: the good as well as the bad.

30) Daudi Kabaka
The sadly late Daudi Kabaka is one of the great foundations upon which East African music is built. We may at times forget to appreciate those who came before us but we really shouldn’t.

He was a Zilizopendwa a.k.a. a classic in every sense of the word.

31) Vusi Mahlasela
Sometimes there’s a need to talk while at other times there’s a need to just shut up and listen.

This guy is the soul music man! Shhhhhhh! Listen!

32) Hugh Masekela
Hugh is one of the patriarchs of South African music. Besides being a former husband of Miriam Makeba, he is also one of the creative forces behind Queen Makeba’s success. And all that is just an added bonus to his own absolutely amazing musical career.

I love when stories are told in music. Below, Hugh tells a story about the trains that took African workers away from their children to go work as peons in the apartheid system.

Get a drink, pull up a chair and enjoy both, the video and the audio.

33) Cheering squads, rioters and protestors

There would be no African music without mobs that either sang and chanted whenever the-powers-that-be acted up or chanted and sang during every sports event.

That is a simple fact and there is no need to further expound on it.

34) Redsan
I would call this ragga MC a Kenyan artist, but he’s been an Afropolitan star who’s been performing mainly outside Africa for so long that this would almost be a lie. He is one of the few artists who started at home, acquired international fame and is now signed up with a label in the granddaddy of music, the United States of America. Or maybe it is India? I intuitively suspect that India may have higher annual sales, but do any of you have more accurate inside information?

His most recent videos, of course, reflects his move to a much more “cash fluid” label.

35) The men who serenade their women

Where would we be without classic tracks like Malaika and African Queen? This reminds us, brothaz, that women can be quite silly and drive us nuts but that’s kinda why we like them. And let us never forgedt that we also like them for their physical beauty, their sexiness, their nurturing aptitude, their appreciation for aesthetics, their femininity and so on and on and on.

The song in the track below is sung by Miss Kidjo but it’s actually a Kiswahili song about a man who is singing to the woman he loves.

36) Nonini

Here is one more Kenyan artist who comes from the music powerhouse that is Calif Records. Though all indications seem to point to the fact that he is currently past his peak, he had probably reached the most magnificent heights in African music.

Bursting onto the music scene with “Manzi wa Nairobi,” Nonini and Jua Cali, a fellow Calif mate, are unashamedly crass as they discuss the day to day life of a young man in Nairobi. Thus, the original “bad boy” of Kenyan music with his ridiculous lyrics became an instant East African sex symbol and every parent’s worst nightmare.

We…we….we….we….kamu! Check out the track below and find his Myspace page here.

37) That kid in your school who can really sing
I don’t think any school in Africa missed out on having at least one kid who always spoke in music. These kids either always had a pen and paper ready for writing lyrics, perpetually walked with a certain rhythm in their steps or, best of all, endlessly regaled everyone with ditties or rap songs.

Jose Chameleone started doing exactly that. Below is the kid I went to school with and the one who always had his “rap rhyme” pen and paper handy and never failed to put them to good use.

38) South Africans

I don’t know if proximity to white people who keep beating you down is a natural performance enhancer, but I do know that South Africans are the best vocalists and musicians Africa has to offer. The South African contribution to the list before you include Malaika, Fassie, Makeba, Masekela and Chakachaka.

I invite you to witness this phenomenon yourself by listening to some music that was part of the anti-apartheid struggle or just pick up a gospel CD recorded by any South African vocalist.

Although the song below is actually about wanting to do very bad things to someone, it will surely make you want to “jam.”

39) Swahili Nation
These guys had to be included in my list because of the quality of their videos. They formed their band in Kenya and attained tremendous success around the turn of the century with the single “Hakuna Matata.”

They had been unable to replicate this massive success, but, from their very beginnings, they have always produced world-class videos and their talents have always been apparent.

40) The Women of Africa
If you have never heard a group of women sing together then you haven’t lived yet, my friend. The blending of their altos and sopranos into high pitched sounds that are still mellow, is an experience to behold.

The Kenyan national anthem is based on a Pokomo lullaby and most songs in their churches are customized to be delivered by God’s most beautiful creation — woman. In honor of women, I shall post the first image ever on the website dedicated to the Displaced African (tDA).

41) Soulfege

On the 14th and 15th of July 2008, I interviewed a member of these Afropolitan gems, D.N.A. aka Derrick Ashong. Rather than hearing about it from me, I am sure that you would much rather listen to the main man, Derrick, speak for himself.

Join their Facebook group here, and don’t forget to share this article with your friends while you’re there.

42) Lokua Kanza

From Wikipedia: Lokua Kanza (born April 1958) is a singer, songwriter and composer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is known for his soulful, folksy sound, which is atypical of the dance-floor friendly soukous music that is so common in the Congo.

Check out his official website here.

43) Conscious rappers

This article could not be complete without talking about socially conscious rappers who have had a huge impact on many African lives, including my own. I am referring to musicians like Tribe Called Quest and Dead Prez who consciously cultivated a relationship with Mother Africa and showed her all the love and respect that she deserves. Being a child of Africa’s soil, I am sending my love right back.

44) Bob Marley
Approach any African and try to convince him or her that Bob isn’t one of us. Come on, I dare you! Bob has always been and will continue to be in the hearts of Africans for a very long time.

I know that absolutely everyone reading this article has sat in a quite room in the company of good friends and sang, “No woman, no cry! I remember when we used to sit in a …”

45) Eric Wainaina
Eric Wainaina has achieved much that sets him apart as a great artist. First of all, he has been a globally revered musician for over a decade. Secondly, he created his own niche and style of music that is now being imitated all over Kenya and he has composed music for stage productions, for musical marathons and for other entertainment events.

He is one of the greats of African soul and jazz with true substance to his lyrics.

For more information visit his home online or just buy his albums on iTunes.

46) Afro-Latinos

Until I came to Australia, I didn’t even know that there are people of African descent living in Central and South America who established a history there. Among many other things, they also created my favorite martial arts in Brazil: Capoeira.

By the way, notice how much the song above sounds like soukkous. Don’t quote me on that, but I seem to vaguely remember reading that the two stem from the same source. Sounds like it might be true, don’t you agree?

47) Makoma

Let’s infuse some gospel into the mix. I first heard this DRC band during the World Cup Games in 2002. All you need to hear is the commanding opening of the track, Butu Na Moyi, to know that you are in for a true listening experience.

Seriously, there must be something in the drinking water south of the equator because this band has some ridiculously well controlled, emotionally fluid, take-you-high vocals.

48) Milele

I recently read an article in the Kenyan Jewels and was reminded that I used to be a fan of this Kenyan Gospel group based in the United States. This set me in a nostalgic mood and I also recalled having been a huge fan of yet another a capella band many years ago, Five Alive.

This one is for all the guys you ever listened to from your past until today, when Milele are rocking audiences as far away from home as Pasadena, California.

49) You tell me

I reserve this last slot for you. If you were moved in any way by this article, share it with your friends on Facebook and then come back to tell me which musical acts have been the soundtrack of your life. Which artists rocked your world?

Why Some Africans Hate Charity? Explained By the Cast of Friends

Mwangi — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 10:05:36 +0000

When I watched this episode of Friends, I thought, “Yup! That captures what a lot of African people feel about charity!”

The Cast

Africa and Africans will be represented by Joey, Rachel and Phoebe

The West and its charitable shall be represented by Ross, Monica and Chandler

Wish I Could Embed It But Sadly I Can’t

Take note of the group dynamics and let me know what you think:

http://www.sidereel.com/Friends_(1994)/_watchlinkviewer/14893

Why Do I Blog About Africa?

Mwangi — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 05:05:01 +0000

I was tagged by Miss Sci and I tag the immortal R and Kelly from Pink Memoirs

Now typically, when someone is asked this question, the response is a poetic delight. Some might talk about Africa’s beautiful geography. Others the strength and the dark past of the continent. Others even of hope and the wonderful future that Africa has.

My reason is not as glamarous. Nor popular. Nor poetic. I started blogging about Africa because one day I looked in the mirror and realized that of all the socioeconomic, spiritual, physical, wordly or “insert way of categorizing people here” groups I belonged to, the one which was weakest was the African side.

When I walk down the street, an African face is a sign of:

* Poverty

* A race that was bullied, soiled, raped, beaten, exploited by much stronger, much smarter races.

* A sociological construct created for those in power to maintain power.

* A people who are ashamed of their features, their hair, their history, their idiosyncracies and trying desperately to fit in with the group that got them in this mess in the first place.

Now the list of things that are wrong with African people is endless. The theories are endless: we are the cursed sons of Noah meant to be hewers of wood and drawers of water. We are simply cursed for the sins of our ancestors and so on and so on.

I didn’t want to be a part of that conversation anymore. I didn’t want to get locked in the bar-room discussions that always start with a sigh and end with 3 hours of (I made this term up) intellectual incestuos masturbation where you stroke each others ego by pompously pontificating on Africa’s ills as though in between your ears rests the Holy Grail.

I wanted to be a part of the solution. All my heart and soul knew was it wanted to be a part of the solution. And so, just a little under a year ago, I put the pen to the paper and started writing.

Now do I think I am part of the solution…..not really. Sure, I have put out some positive stuff and I have helped people think about things better, but I am far from content. I want to be the seed of the next great revolutionary or the catalyst for a great social movement and know I am far from that.

As with many posts in my blogging career, I have not spell checked or edited this one. Sci, consider this a promise fulfilled.

With love,

Mwangi

How Should We Put an End to Poverty and Is Feedburner Utter Crap?

Mwangi — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 23:20:11 +0000

Hello Folks,

Following on from my request yesterday that you ask me questions, here we are on Day 1 of my answers to your questions. If you have any more questions or things to say, leave me a comment below or email me at masmilele(at)thedisplacedafrican(dot)com

Btw, a lot of the post isn’t spellchecked

Thomas Johnson asks:

Here’s a question – In your opinion, what is the best thing we can do to help prevent poverty in the world?

I know it’s a complex issue but I’m keen to hear your thoughts on the matter. I might put your answer on my website if thats ok.

My Answer:

Before I give my answer let me give my caveats:
1) I am far from an expert.
2) This answer is a mixture of intuition, reflection, all the various schools of thought that I have been exposed to over the course of my life as well as facts and figures (which have never been my strongest area)
3) I am just gonna vent it out uncensored

Alright, what is the best thing we can do to help prevent poverty in the world?

If I was to give a technical answer to your question, i.e. how can you and I best help prevent future poverty in the world, my answer would be:

Cyclical Culture of Consumption

If you haven’t watched it, please go and watch the Story of Stuff . In it, one of the key ideas is that the West, in particular America, post World War 2 has had policies which pretty much accelerate a linear, non-stop type of consumption. Not only that, but there is something which I believe is called planned obsolescence.

When these two things merge it results in people who strip the Earth, consume its resources, put nothing back into the source of life and then quickly run to consume the next thing.

In addition to that, I did a semester of Sustainability at college and one of the great ideas I got from that is that, in order for the whole world to live like the West does we would need 3 planets to accomodate all the linear consumption, I have since heard estimates of 5 and 7.

Don’t Know Why This Part Popped into My Head…..

We need to focus on renourishing the Earth and repairing the damage done. Far from being just something to do because it feels good, or is the right thing to do, or any airy fairy justifications, the way we are consuming is resulting in global warming which is resulting in polar ice caps melting which results in some islands being flooded, resulting in environmental refugees….where are they gonna go?

If we slow down our consumption, this prevents any more people having to live in poverty or losing their homes just so we can have the latest model fashion accessory without putting anything back into its source

The Above is a Terrible Answer, But its the First Thing that Came to My Head, Take 2

The best thing we can do is support people who are working towards a few things:
1) All the organizations standing up to the World Trade Organization to demand that trade be fair and that a world that claims to be capitalist actually lives by one of the cornerstone capitalist principles, free trade. Not free trade with subsidy and tarrif caveats.
2) All the poor people like the shack dwellers of South Africa who are fighting just for dignity and land.
3) Organizations like the World Social Forum where the poor get together to exchange ideas, recipes and map out the future.

We can also try to affect policy within Western countries and get rid of subsidies and tarrifs. Aid is a sick pathetic joke. Tell me the day that a compound interest loan, the humiliation of having people of another country be in charge of your destiny and shove their way of life and ideas down your throat is charity and I will show you the day that a shower curtain is the perfect fashion accesory for any season.

I think the key is to remember that its always been the opressed who have gotten themselves out of their mess. Let’s help them out once they get started, get out of their way when they don’t need us and try to stop people from gettting in their way.

Finally, as a species we need to raise our consciousness to a place where we can actually co-exist with each other, without always trying to dominate and control one another on the one hand and with all of us taking responsibility for the individual and collective good i.e. loving ourselves and loving our neighbour just as much and not only knowing that intellectually but making decisions daily that are guided by that principle.

If we don’t, then we’ll just continue the cycle of empires rising and falling, rising and falling, rising and falling as opposed to all our boats rising together. For the first time, almost every one in the world can watch the same thing at the same time via the Internet, TV, satellites, mobile phones etc etc, if they can’t watch it they’re probably close to someone who can. Maybe we can somehow take over these avenues and use them to raise the global consiousness otherwise it’ll just end up being:

Greece-Egypt-Rome-Britain-America-X

Also a terrible answer but it’ll do. As I said, not my forte, but I hope this served.

tracyjones asks:

I’ve read about feedburner not working and yet you use it, there are whole sites devoted to telling me it is a load of rubbish. How come it works for some and not others?

My Answer:

For those who don’t know what Feedburner is, check out this page explaining what it is, check out the Feedburner site or subscribe to the blog via RSS to see it in action (the subtly of that plug has to be seen to be believed doesn’t it )

I can only speak from my experience as I have never conducted in depth investigation into Feedburner. Personally I have never ever heard people complain about Feedburner’s ability to get the job done and in fact I have heard it recommended quite a few times BUT Feedburner definitely has a problem as far as consistency is concerned.

There are many times during the course of the week that I won’t have access to my subscriber numbers and what was once a subscriber number turns into a 0. However, in terms of showing me raw traffic numbers, with the exception of the time when I was transferring and changing themes over, which is understandable,Feedburner has been great as far as showing me how many people have visited my site over the last few hours and days.

Personally I recommend that if you people are going to ask people subscribe to your blog via email or RSS then you use Feedburner. If you want an email newsletter, Aweber.

Hope this helps. Any other questions, do not hesitate to ask.

7 Unique Things That Africa and Africans Have Taught Me

Mwangi — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 17:04:26 +0000

As a lot of you know, I was born and raised in Kenya. I have been to South Africa and all over Kenya. I have hung out with Zims, Tswanas, Ghanians, Naijas, Tanzanians, African Americans and other children of the soil from all over the place. What have I learned from all of this?

1) Keeping It Real:

By keeping it real, I don’t neccesarily mean honesty, because any African will tell you that Africa has it’s fair share of liars. Instead, I am talking about wearing your heart on your sleeve.

Yesterday I was in a social gathering here in Oz (Australia for the uninitiated): When I got home, I realized how subtle our interactions were. Sure on the surface level, it may have seemed quite simple and easy, but there was so much sub-text: when to talk, who to talk to, when to move on, when you lost someone in the conversation, when you gained someone else, who had the power, who didn’t, who is attracted to you, who did you just turn off and so on and so forth.

And none of this was really ever discussed in the open or brought to the surface and its something that a lot of folks can really miss unless they have interacted with people from Oz for a while.

I cannot tell you how much grief I have seen because of completely misunderstanding the sub-text or underlying rules of an interaction or not setting the rules early on.

Sure in Africa there is still sub-text but people are much more open about how they feel and much more expressive in the way they speak. Most of all they speak sub-text that I understand. Considering I learned a lesson something as important as this in the school of hard knocks and not in a classroom you quickly realize:

2) Education Isn’t What it Promised to Be:

There are many articles out there that constantly remind members of the African diaspora that we are some of the best educated folks around.

As far as I am concerned, the fact that you have a degree means diddly squat. Don’t get me wrong, I bow to your intellect for being intelligent and hard working enough to go through more than a decade of school and end up in an outstanding course in an outstanding University. I salute and have a deep respect for you after enduring the rigours of the unstructured University life and coming out strong, Lord knows I dropped off on the side. BUT all this love and respect, is aimed AT YOU, not your degrees.

Anyone who was around Kenyans around the post-election violence of last year quickly realized that a University degree (and even chronological age) isn’t a guarantee of maturity, or wisdom, or restraint, or love, or compassion or even intelligence really. So all this stuff we were sold as kids that education is the be all and end all to making us well rounded people of substance: Not so! And by the way the same thing applies for:

3) Hard Work:

Africans are hands down some of the hardest working people around. I come from a family where one half of the two person team that made me was the best woman in the country when her high school results came out. I have watched both my folks slug it out for 8+ hour days 6 days a week, starting business after business after business. And here’s the thing: that work ethic is pretty much standard procedure in Africa.

I was genuinely shocked when I arrived in Oz and realized there were things like minimum wage and maximum daily working hours.

When most folks here complain about being worked to the ground from 8 hours of work, 5 days a week, I can’t help but think: isn’t the idea of stress relative?

The Australian workload would be kinda like a vacation for a standard African worker. That’s part of the reason that I don’t write much about the need for hard work: a lot of Africans intrinsically know this and live it. Sadly that’s partly because:

4) Africans are Unashamedly Materialistic:

A lot of people in the West are materialistic. A lot of Jones out here want the fancy house, big car, a lot of money, pretty girls/boys etc etc. However many people out West are taught, and even believe that,

“Money isn’t everything. There are things more important than money.”

Not the African. Many Africans would sell their soul at discount prices to get money. There is nothing more important than money to a lot of Africans and material possesions not only define you, they are the cornerstone of who you are. One of the reasons I created the Stuff African people like series was to poke fun at a seriously high level of materialism that we as African folks have at the expense of other things.

Don’t believe we are materialistic: pay a visit to the homes of African politicians and welathy businessmen and tell me they don’t easily trump 90% of homes in Europe: I mean I was certainly disappointed by the houses here when I first showed up. It’s pretty interesting though how there is so much similarity right now between the homes of Melbourne and where I grew up in Nairobi. In truth:

5) Westernization is Powerful:

If anyone ever wants to start a think tank that talks about the power of Westernization and how to keep that sucker on a leesh and under control, I am behind them 100%.

We are on the road to being one huge homogenous global society, controlled from Washington, speaking English and liking and doing the same things from Auckland to California.

For me to say that I never spoke anything other than English regularly before I came to Australia is a travesty when one considers that just over 40 years ago I would be living an entirely different life with an entirely different set of beliefs and values.

We are not in control of Westernization and it is hitting Africa like a tidal wave, the good sides (human rights, respect for women and people from other cultures, shared commonalities with people from all over the world) and bad ( relationships breakdown, drug habits, lethal eating habits, confusion and lack of purpose, manufacturing of a majority of humanity living in poverty, linear models of insatiable consumption etc etc etc).

I am not saying that Westernization is good or bad, I am a result of it. I am saying, we need to control it and not be a slave to it. As Westernized as we Africans arel, I was quite surprised to discover that most Africans are:

6) Africans are Socially Conservative:

It’s been said many times and it will be said many times in future: white people are crazy. I love it! A lot of white people are unashamedly out there and willing to try out things that would make the average African absolutely squirm.

Whether its experimenting with things like religion or relationships or business or even endangering their lives in pursuit of something that to many looks like a pipe dream fantasy that will never come true, people from the West do it.

Africans tread with care and wait for a path to be beaten before jumping into it. We hold on to whatever societal rules have been passed down to us and are rarely willing to question for fear of failure and alienation.

White people go beat the path naked with a carrot in one hand and an idea in the other.

But I Digress

Just as a side note, don’t you find it interesting that out of the whole African blogosphere, there are only like maybe 10 or less of us who actually use our real names and/or have pictures AND almost all of us who do aren’t in Africa. I know there is a point to be made there somewhere, I just don’t know what it is.

7) Some People are Just Mean:

The old adage that good will always prevail over evil is a lie. Many brutal, callous people have existed and gone about their narcissistic work all life long going from success to success. Just look at African dictators. Some of these fellows will do evil all life long and will die not having experienced any more stress than the normal man who does good. Good doesn’t always prevail over evil. It only prevails when people who believe in it fight for it day after day after day.

So there, off the top of my head are 7 things that growing up in Nairobi and being around a lot of Africans from all over the world has taught me in my life.

If you want to hear more about my experiences and insights, make sure you subscribe to this site via RSS or email to receive regular updates.

Be blessed and bless others,

Mwangi

7 Pieces of the Puzzle that Africa Has

Mwangi — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 17:29:26 +0000

As you will probably notice I am currently in the process of creating my email newsletter. It is going to be the latest permanent addition to this little blog so any advice on how to make my email newsletter better is very appreciated….oh and of course join it . To today’s program:

Greetings, salutations and hello. Today’s article is a special treat for me and hopefully for you. It is yet another post that pretty much evolved over the course of a day as opposed to a preplanned article, which is always very very cool.

So a few months ago I was visiting this elderly couple in Country Victoria. In their home, which is absolutely gorgeous for a 100 year old house, they had this puzzle: The puzzle was a mix between a rubix cube and a jigsaw puzzle. You get a cube that is open on one end, a bunch of haphazardly shaped wooden pieces and you are basically meant to fit all those pieces perfectly into the box.

As our brains sweat through the task, someone suggested that I should write a blog post about the puzzle. I thought to myself:

” I own the Displaced African domain, so why not?!”

Today I thought I would share with you 7 elements that I believe that Africa has that are far from being used to their maximum effect. These are 7 elements that we can use to take Africa from the gutter that we currently are in, all the way to the stars and beyond. Without further ado, they are:

1) Pain and Suffering

We have had a recent history filled with nothing but tragedy after tragedy. But we do not use tragedy to move our country forward. When Kenya was bombed in 1998, the reaction of our country was far different to that of the States. The US has mourned, established memorials, investigated 9/11 to the littlest detail, had all media talking about 9/11 and it’s implications, made movies, wrote books, got think tanks working overtime, used it as justification to go protect their interests overseas etc etc etc

They basically did everything imaginable to not only ensure it never happens again, but they emerge stronger as a result. Pain and suffering a lot of the time can be the greatest motivation to get to work and make the world a better place. In Africa we have more than enough to motivate us. Sadly a lot of the time we direct it at each other instead of at solving the root cause of the problem as is the case in South Africa at the moment.

2) Cultural Richness

I have spoken about this many many many times but we really should have had a discussion as a society, post colonialism about how we’d handle some of the important parts of the human experience including the only thing that comes guaranteed with life: death.

In my humble opinion, the way some African cultures handled death was grossly superior to the Western ways we inherited of handling death. The Ashanti didn’t mourn death but viewed it as an inevitable part of life. The Luo people keep the corpse in the dead person’s home and hire professional wailers and mourners to ensure that all the grieving that needs to be done is done as soon as possible. During this time, any debts or scores of the deceased that need to be settled are settled as everyone in the community is given a chance to come and speak to the family members. And then to ensure that, if its a man, his wife and children are taken care of, a member of the family takes the wife and children into his home.

To me, there are a lot of things in those two approaches that strike me as a very healthy way of viewing death. We had a lot of customs and traditions from 1000s of tribes in Africa that were clearly working for a certain period of time…foolish is the man who doesn’t learn or even bother examining his past.

3) Work Ethic

It doesn’t matter where you go or who you speak to, nine times out of 10, Africans are praised for our ability to work and work very hard. That’s why you almost never hear of African people who immigrate overseas and end up poor, destitute and/or homeless. Caught up in the rat race? perhaps. Living beyond their means? perhaps. But Africans tend to work themselves like work horses regardless.

Sure we have our fair share of lazy folk, but we have enough hard workers that it counts.

4) Natural Resources

Say what you will, but Africa is the richest natural resource on Earth. The Scramble for Africa took place because the colonial barbarians kept drooling at just how resource rich our continent was. Needless to say, Africa is currently being exploited and stripped and robbed at an exponential pace. BUT, we still have enough natural resources that it counts.

5) Educated People

Africa is one of those odd places on Earth where you will find people with Masters degrees walking the streets daily in search of work. As I have shared in the past, we love us some degrees and advanced degrees and it’s knocked into our heads from a very young age that no one goes to success but by Bachelor.

This has resulted in about two or three generations of extremely well trained, academically intelligent people of colour. If we could put all the African brains all over the world into a brain trust, it would probably be the wealthiest brain trust around.

6) Young People

Young people can have two things that make them the most powerful forces known to man:

a) A sense of infinite possibility and a belief that we can bring them to life.

b) No sense of shame.

A lot of people look at point b) as though it’s a negative. I think it’s ridiculously powerful. Sometimes when I get in the train and look at Sudanese teenagers who are acting a fool I think to myself:

These people genuinely don’t care what people think about them. They will act however they want without any fear whatsoever of its social consequences. Can you imagine if they put this lack of inhibition and thick skins to constructive use?

It’s no secret that to cause massive changes or bring something new to society you need a thick skin. As Tony Robbins once said, when a new idea comes into society,

First it’s ridiculed and chastised. Then it’s violently opposed. And then it’s accepted as truth that was dismissed by crazy people.

Take points a) and b) above, mix them together and you see why so many of the great movements had young people in them.

7) People in the Diaspora

I think I have discussed this one and will continue to discuss if for a very long time and so I see no need to go over it because while reading some of the above points, I know you have seen some of the ways, we in the diaspora can be a powerful force for good.

So what we will do with this power, is entirely up to us, but make no mistake about it, the power is there.

There you have it, seven things that I believe that Africa has going for it.

To stay a part of the conversations in the Displaced African, please stay a part of the email list or add the Displaced African to your feed reader.

Be blessed and bless others,

Mwangi

Mwangi’s Youtube Debut, Africa’s Brain Drain and Brain Circulation

Mwangi — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:04:42 +0000

Gaaddzoooks! I am the fastest talking person I have ever listened to. Thank God I know this early, now I can learn-how-to-speak-slow, and I don’t have to learn this one day when I have a radio interview organized with the largest radio show in some country.

Anyway this is the guy who is teaching me how I can make a living writing the Displaced African (I can’t recommend Yaro highly enough.To learn more about Yaro check out his free book, Blog Profits Blueprint). Give me feedback on how I can improve my interview technique, I am currently in the process of trying to get into the media and I want to make sure I am the best interview subject EVER.

Now that you have seen my face, you are free to stalk me as long as you stalk me bearing gifts

Back to Business: Brain Drain vs Brain Circulation

Check out this article from Out of Africa about Africa’s brain drain. I think the quote below definitely takes top prize as sobering thought of the day:

DESPITE a general upward trend in economic and social growth in Africa, massive brain drain continues to its take toll on the continent, with analysts claiming that it has the same effects as the slave trade and is worse than colonialism.

From the same article, I got this BBC news report: check out the ideas on brain circulation: yet another model worth emulating me thinks.

To stay connected to the thoughts of someone who talks so fast, subscribe by RSS or join the free email list to get daily updates.

Mwangi

So Here’s the Thing About Relocating to Africa

Mwangi — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:04:49 +0000

It’s really hard, and when it’s all said and done doesn’t appear to be for everyone. But most of us know it’s an incredibly noble, brave and courageous thing to do. So let’s break down four reasons to go back home and three reasons to stay put in the diaspora.

For

1) Money and Entrepreneurship

From a purely selfish standpoint, it’s much easier for a person to leave the West and make their fortunes in Africa than it would be had he not left in the first place. During his or her time away, they have had their creative faculties ignited by exisiting in a different land with different people, institutions and rules.

This may in turn spark ideas for businesses that have long since been taken for granted abroad but are yet to make a hit on the continent of Africa: examples may be outsourcing, an African Itunes or the mobile phone ring tone market outside of South Africa (perhaps?).

So people could easily go home to cut and paste businesses and make killings. I know that a lot of y’all probably have at some point thought about taking some business idea or invention to Africa and how it would make you the black Buffet. There’s one part of the equation.

The other part is the difference in currency. African currencies are much weaker than foreign ones. That means that if you are able to create cashflow sources abroad and/or sell a business(s) the value of your money is much greater as soon as you set foot on the Dark Continent.

For some of you the cashflow might even be operating on auto-pilot meaning that not only does your money’s value increase on the basis of the foreign exchange but also because you have free time with which to design your ideal lifestyle using this money. Trips throughout Africa, contribution to your community and a nice plot for you to grow old in. And all this in the country of your birth……Something to think about.

2) To Follow in Great Footsteps

Lord knows how accurate Wikipedia is but I read this article about how the US together with Britain planned out the decolonization of the world. They intended on educating the next crop of African leaders to take over in their own countries and then leave Westernized minds to proliferate Western ways of life.

That means that the story of a lot of Africa’s great leaders, Nkrumah and Nyerere, just to name a couple, is one of people who left the luxuries of the West to return to a life of servitude in Africa.

For the “more enlightened” Africans these are some absolutely phenomenal shoes to fill and walk in. In addition to that a life of service is “the right thing to do” because a lot of us know that:

People at home can be controlled easily because of poverty and ignorance

Most of us in the diaspora are well educated and have more than enough to survive

We can share this knowledge and resources and help people come out of poverty and suffering

That equation is far from a mystery and for a lot of us it is the driving force behind our being here.

3) To Be With People Like You

The person who created the expression, “There’s no place like home,” must have been an immigrant. You never forget or lose a special connection with the place that gave you your way of life, your language, your culture, your history and most of all, your initial sense of belonging.

A lot of immigrants don’t feel very welcome abroad or don’t feel welcome in the same way as we did in our native habitat. We want that feeling again and we want it every single day. It’s surprising how rarely this is discussed. This alone is responsible for huge numbers making the ocean migrations.

4) Retirement

Nursing homes suck! Retiring as an old person on a plot and being taken care of by your little nieces, nephews and grand children seems much better than your destiny being controlled by a cranky 22 year old African lady in a retirement village after a long life well lived.

We want to retire in style and in dignity and so we return to the place where we can: home.

Against

1) The People are Mean

I don’t think it’s any secret that Africans being on the bottom of the racial totem pole for many generations has left us with not-the-most-pleasant of personalities. We have inferiority complexes, insecurities and faults and very rarely work on them directly (when we do, the results are usually magnificent, just examine African music, philosophy and literature to get a glimpse of that)

Instead we decide to bring each other down to size and viciously attack anyone or anything that even begins to remind us of any feelings of inadequacy. This means that verbal diarrhoea, anger and negativity directed at each other is commonplace. And this isn’t even the main reason we can be so bad.

Lest we forget, most Africans are dirt poor. This is not a pleasant experience. People don’t have the time to be nice to you when they are robbing you to eat for that night (though surprisingly some thieves are very generous and courteous, go figure…..). Until Africa is an egalitarian society where we feel as though we are all whole human beings equal to people from all races and nationalities, we probably won’t stop being so mean.

2) It’s Hard

For those who do decide that they want to do something for the community, life is hard. Remember how most people are mean. Now mix that with a hatred and dislike for “people who have come from abroad to tell us what to do because they think they are so special now that they have spent a few years overseas” which a lot of immigrants get when they return.

Throw in a huge dash of sexism if she’s a woman and tribalism and xenophobia regardless of their ethnic background. Splash in a whole lot of ignorance and illeteracy. Mix that up with some really corrupt politicians who like things just as they are.

Put the Western government-industrial-corporate-military complex which also likes the status-quo on top of all that and you have the road that an African community organizer must take.

It’s considered noble, courageous and given great rewards for a reason, it’s bloody hard!

3) You Like Where You Are

Don’t let the hype fool you: money isn’t the root of all joy.

Don’t let the haters fool you either: the West isn’t all about money.

In this place, whatever your journey to your bliss, you can find it. If you wish to find people who have chosen the strictly spiritual path to self-actualization, you’ll find them here. If you’re after the Wall Street money-hungry folk who only see the cents in dollars, they’re all right here. Searching for people who put family and people above all else they are right here.

Whatever niche and experience and road to nirvana you have chosen, chances are you will find it in the West. To leave all of that and return to Africa which has a long way before it becomes the experience-buffet that the West isn’t a small ask.

So let me ask you, will you ever go home? Why? Why not? Leave a comment and let me know.

Be blessed and bless others,

Mwangi

PS: I just thought I would ask y’all whether or not I should continue with the series in which I explore different people’s viewpoints on living in Melbourne. I just wanted to check if people were finding some use in it now or I should postpone it till later when I’ve established the foundations of the blog a bit better.

Stuff African People Like: Their Solutions to Africa’s Problems

Mwangi — Tue, 27 May 2008 17:04:13 +0000

There is no gathering of African people anywhere around the world that doesn’t include the customary discussion of just what is wrong with Africa and how to fix it.

Don’t get me wrong though, it is far from a democratic discussion. The philosophy that gets the most airtime in the imaginations of the listeners is that of the loudest most dominant person. Sad to say, the expression that “empty vessels make the most noise” isn’t just a coffee mug logo: a lot of the time it’s true.

Sometimes however one is surprised by the quiet person in the group who proposes something like,

” We should take all the members of the (insert group they don’t like living in the country) and kick them out or use them for genetic testing.”

A key component of these bar room/church crusade/casual gathering strategy and philosophy sessions is no action must come out of them. For you see if the African knew they had to act on everything they said, they would feel a lot less free to share.

Therefore should you ever engage in these conversations with members of the continent be sure to:

a) Marvel at the brilliance of the most popular opinion. There is no need for you to give any form of input: By now it should be clear that the African is simply content seeming smarter than you. So make sure you acknowledge them as you would Einstein if you were there when he created the theory of relativity.

b) Whenever they discuss the African problems be sure to leer and express disgust at whatever outside force the speaker claims are responsible for Africa’s woes-other ethnic group, white man, politicians, women,men etc etc. Honestly you cannot go wrong with, “Satan is a liar,“, thrown into the mix every so often.

c) NEVER EVER EVER EVER propose or even think about putting any of these ideas into action. If you begin thinking or acting in that direction, Africans will quickly kick you out of their gathering: after all the African is talking to you to feel all smart and powerful, not to act or be held accountable: that’s just too much work and time taken away from making money, rising through the ranks and garnering degrees.

To explore the mind of the African a little deeper make sure you return here every day or stay updated by RSS or email to stay in touch.

Top 7 Signs You Have Been an Immigrant too Long

Mwangi — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 17:04:05 +0000

So how do you know that you have been away from your native country for way too long. Never fear, I am here to give you the warning signs that you have lost touch with the motherland.

1) Communication is Lacking: You go to your native countrymen to have a conversation and the only word you understand of a language that you used to think was yours, is the greeting. This particularly applies to creole or ever-evolving languages such as sheng.

2) Everyone Talks to You in English (or French): Even though you grew up speaking the local languages, as soon as people see you, they change from natives to Rhode Scholars.

3) You wear a Kenya/Ghana/South Africa T-shirt IN Kenya/Ghana/South Africa: Short of special events, most people don’t wear shirts proudly declaring their citizenship while they live there. Clearly you have missed the place.

4) You Pay Higher Prices for Everything: As far as shopkeepers are concerned, you are a tourist and so should be treated as such.

5) Your Family Members Don’t Recognize You: Maybe it’s the weird curly kit hairdo (both men and women), maybe it’s the excess of baggy clothes, maybe it’s the weird walk and the even weirder accent. Either way, when your aunties look at you, they are actually looking through you searching for the young person they sent abroad.

6) You Expect Everything to be on time and efficient: You complain to anyone around you that passports shouldn’t take this long to process/ buses shouldn’t be four hours late/ the police should actually live to serve people.

These complaints are almost always taken as a spoiled cry-baby trying to tell everyone what to do.

7) You are on time FOR EVERYTHING: If you find yourself being punctual for everything, occupational functions AND social functions, then clearly your concept of “African time” is gone and you have been abroad too long.

Off the top of my head I can think of a few more but I will leave for the floor open for y’all to share with me some of the signs you have noticed of this deadly disease.

From one member of the diaspora to another,

Mwangi