World Aids Day

Today being world aids day I thought I’d show some support and write a short post on the subject.

Firstly I’d like to start by saying that the face of aids is not an African one rather that of a global, undoubtedly Africa seems to have been greatly affected/infected and in certain countries on the continent the number of new cases are steadily increasing however this epidemic can no longer be ignored on the home front, I say this because whenever I see one of those charity adverts on aids they always seem to paint a picture that aids is synonymous with Africa, yes Africa has indeed suffered the most from this epidemic but the reality of it is that aids is and has been a global issue for a long time, aids is in the UK and the number of cases are on the rise.

Worryingly statistics have shown that sexual transmitted diseases amongst the young have and continue to increase at an alarming rate, within Europe the UK has one of the highest birth rates amongst its young with children as young as eleven becoming pregnant, this growing trend of ignorance towards the message of safe sex has to be addressed. I don’t claim to know it all when it comes to the topic aids or safe sex, but when children that haven’t even left high school are having kids of their own you know that shit aint right!!!


It seems that in this day and age parents/guardians are so heavily reliant upon the education system to teach their kids about sexual intercourse, a task I believe every parent should be involved in and not left to some random supply teacher and if the teachers of today are anything like the ones I had when I was back at school then god help us!!

I recall MR Shah, a small Asian man with a thick moustache covering his upper lip trying to teach a class of thirty pubescent boys and girls on the delicate subject of the birds and the bees a subject dare I say he was inadequate to teach. The poor man was full with embarrassment and would blush and struggle to get the words out of he’s mouth when asked a sensitive question. He would then proceed to show us a video on childbirth before leaving the room only to return when it had finished.

So parents educate your kids or deal with the repercussions that may occur, and if any promiscuous youngsters shall grace this blog please educate yourselves, you only got one life to live.


Listed below are some links to some charities and some sites to further your knowledge and show some support

The Terrence Higgins Trust
http://www.tht.org.uk/
THT is the leading HIV & AIDS charity in the UK and the largest in Europe. It was one of the first charities to be set up in response to the HIV epidemic and has been at the forefront of the fight against HIV & AIDS ever since.

(RED)
http://www.joinred.com
(RED) was created by Bono and Bobby Shriver, to raise awareness and money for The Global Fund by teaming up with the world's most iconic brands to produce (PRODUCT)RED branded products. A percentage of each (PRODUCT)RED product sold is given to The Global Fund. The money helps women and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Uganda AIDS Action Fund
www.uaaf.org.uk
Uganda AIDS Action Fund (UAAF) is a charitable organisation providing education, health promotion information, advice and support to Africans and other black and ethnic minorities living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.

United Nations Children's Fund
www.unicef.org.uk/aids
UNICEF is the world’s leading organisation working specifically for children. UNICEF has launched a five-year global campaign to assist children affected by AIDS.

African Eye
www.theafricaneye.co.uk
The UK's first African sexual health magazine.


Black Health Agency
www.blackhealthagency.org.uk
Black Health Agency and it's projects exist to work with and for African, Caribbean, and South East Asian communities as well as a diverse range of other marginalised groups.


46664 Nelson Mandela Foundation
http://46664.tiscali.com/
46664 is Nelson Mandela’s campaign to help raise Global awareness of AIDS/HIV.

iTalk

With all the talk of apple steping into the mobile phone arena Mac fans and apple geeks across the world have been foaming at the mouth in anticipation, and when I saw this video clip I to was drooling all over my keyboard. When apple decide to release a mobile phone it will probably be the sexiest phone in the market, and no that crap they did with Motorola doesn't count.

The Format

As a young eighteen-year-old 1995 was a year of self-discovery and first time experiences, my first time in employment I was paid £3.30 an hour working for a chain of well known fast food restaurants, after two months of blood, sweat and tears my pay cheque finally arrived and with that in hand I went out an bought my first stereo hi fi system (a Technics midi hifi which by the way is still in perfect working order, god bless Japanese technology) which subsequently led me to buying my first ever album AZ’s Doe or Die an album laced with gems such as the track entitled ‘rather unique’ produced by none other than Pete Rock, and there was also sugar hill which sampled the song ‘sugar free’ by juicy. Sugar hill fast became a hip-hop anthem earning AZ his first; some would say only major taste of success as a solo artist.

Over the last decade or so this understated veteran of hip-hop has quietly been churning out reasonably decent albums like 9 Lives, Aziatic and A.W.O.L to name a few and this month sees him release yet another consecutive album The Format, in the realm of the hip-hop fraternity this album makes for a welcome change from all the monotonous dribble that has saturated the current market, with he’s high toned voice, poetic lyrics and intelligent style of rap AZ lays down the blueprint to his longevity a reoccurring theme that resonates throughout the album. On the track entitled the format we see him team up with DJ Premier arguably one of the best DJ/producers in the industry who laces him with a heavy electronic beat that sounds like it could have been used in Miami vice or knight rider. The album also features guest appearances from M.O.P. on "Sit 'Em Back Slow" a heavy hitting track to bump your head to. Underground group Little Brother make an appearance on "Rise & Fall" definitely one of my favourite tracks from the album.

On ‘Royal salute’ he takes time out to address the current bully of rap 50 cent, in response to a diss record released earlier this year. Unlike many rappers who would retaliate in a storm of macho bravado AZ scolds 50 in a matter of fact kind of way like an older brother putting him in place with heavy punch lines like “ You a fan so overall respect my hand, cause I can see what’s going on I respect your scam and when we ghost you can bet who’ll be felt the most.”


AZ has yet again delivered a great album however with all the media hype surrounding Jay Z’s return from a short retirement and Nas’s soon to be released long over due album, I fear to say that this album will probably be slept on by the mainstream.

Kramer’s Tirade

Michael Richards the actor/comedian who played the crazy Cosmo Kramer on the hit TV show "Seinfeld," exploded in anger as he performed at a famous L.A. comedy club last Friday, hurling racial insults after being heckled by two black members of the audience.

Richards began his attack, screaming at one of the men, "Fifty years ago we'd have you upside down with a f***ing fork up your ass." Richards continued, "You can talk, you can talk, you're brave now motherf**ker. Throw his ass out. He's a nigger! He's a nigger! He's a nigger! A nigger, look, there's a nigger!" The crowd is visibly and audibly confused and upset. Richards responds by saying, "They're going to arrest me for calling a black man a nigger." One of the men who was the object of Richard's tirade was outraged, shouting back "That's un-f***ing called for, ain't necessary." His outburst was caught on camera and has subsequently been making the rounds on the Internet. The comedian later appeared on the letterman show to make an apology for the outburst.

Frankly I don’t know why people are so surprised, racism is still alive and always will be no matter how much people try to conceal it every now and again you will get an outburst like this, Michael Richards was just saying what many people feel and say behind close doors.


Click here to watch the video

Forgotten Soldiers

The other day I was having a conversation with a friend she was telling me that her daughter didn’t believe that black people fought in the first and second world wars, when told, her daughter answered back in disbelief “How come it doesn’t say that in my history books” So this being remembrance Sunday I just had to post this.

The 1914-18 war brought to an end German colonial rule in Africa, saw up to two million Africans make sacrifices for Europe, Africans from many countries served with the Allied forces during the First World War, as front line troops and in auxiliary roles.

Participants came from Nigeria, the Gambia, Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), South Africa, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Nyasaland (now Malawi), Kenya and the Gold Coast (now Ghana). Many saw active service in their home continent, taking part in the campaigns to capture the German-controlled territories of Togo, Cameroon, German South West Africa (now Namibia) and German East Africa (now Tanzania). France used African troops more than any other European power, including Senegalese riflemen who fought in the victorious battle to take the German colony of Togo and were also shipped to fight at Gallipoli in what was to become Turkey.

15,600 men of the British West Indies Regiment served with the Allied forces. Jamaica contributed two-thirds of these volunteers, while others came from Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, the Bahamas, British Honduras, Grenada, British Guiana (now Guyana), the Leeward Islands, St Lucia and St Vincent. Nearly 5,000 more subsequently volunteered to join up.

For more info click on the links below

Memorial Gates Trust
Institute of Common Wealth Studies
channel4 History

Pronto condoms

For a lot guys out there the process of applying a condom can prove to be somewhat of a hassle. Fortunately, those days are over thanks to the Pronto condom, a condom that can be applied in a few seconds. And is a lot more convenient to use compared to an ordinary condom according to designer Willem van Rensburg.

The firm's adverts, which can be seen on its website, feature jokes at the expense of two senior South African politicians former Deputy President Jacob Zuma and Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

Mr Zuma said in a court case that he had showered after having unprotected sex with a woman he knew to be HIV-positive in order not to contract the virus.

Dr Tshabalala-Msimang is known for her advice to those with HIV to eat nutritious food such as garlic and beetroot.

The Condoms will be going on sale in South Africa this week.

Crazy and Deranged

A video of Jay-Z, assaulting a female fan is in circulation in South Africa. If you haven’t seen it already check it out by clicking here

DISCOVERING FREENESS

Today I discovered freeness while surfing the net. Freeness is a project with the intention of providing opportunities for unsigned UK acts individuals and collaborators who produce creative music, particularly those from Black, Asian and ethnic minorities.

Conceived by Turner Prize-winning visual artist Chris Ofili (the artist who makes art using elephant dung/shit) and developed with the help of a range of partners including the Arts Council, Bloomberg, OMM and his friends Gavin Alexander and Tony Nwachukwu from CDR and Charlie Dark of Blacktronica.

Check out the freeness site where you can listen to some of the artist who took part in the project, I’m feeling the song Fall in Love by Champayne Marks she sounds a bit like keyshia cole. I’m also feeling The Heard with there track- Bigger than us, the beat sounds like a talib kweli beat.

SWAY IN THE USA

Ghanaian born UK artist sway has been named Best UK Act ahead of the first Black Entertainment Television (BET) Hip Hop awards


The 23-year-old, London-native who was nominated for this year's Mercury music prize, fought off stiff competition from Dizzee Rascal, Blak Twang, Kano and Plan B to scoop the title which was nominated by BBC 1Xtra and MTV Base audiences in the UK


Sway has been tearing up the UK grime/hip hop scene with his tongue and cheek style of rap, in 2005 he was awarded Best Hip-Hop Artist at the MOBOs despite still being unsigned, not having released an album, and being up against rap heavyweights 50 Cent and The Game. A decision, which caused some controversy (I guess some folks still think that UK artist can’t compete in the same arena as American artists) and to those that think like that all I can say is you gotta give respect when respect is due.

Check his myspace.com page for more music and info.
And if you aint got his album yet “this is my demo” what you waiting for!!