Mounia, France's black supermodel elavated to ranks of Knight of the Order of Merit

Photo and copyright: Régis Durand de Girard: Marie-Luce Penchard & Mounia
Mounia, the first black supermodel from France, has been honored by the French government and elevated to the ranks of Knight of the Order of Merit (Chevalier de l’Ordre de Mérite). She was awarded the honor on November 23th at the Ministery of the Overseas Territories in Paris.

In the name of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Marie-Luce Penchard (current Minister of Overseas Territories) described the model as she who had pushed the greatest grand couturiers to “rupture with aesthetique codes in vigor” of the time in order to include black women in their vision of elegance, sophistication and fashion.

The American magazine, Essence Magazine, in 2005, placed her among the most famous black personalities. Her award was welcomed by the minister as a "tribute to the tenacity and fortitude of black women".

Read a full story at Fashion Insider
See the pictures of the reception at Fxgpariscaraibe

Singer Leona Lewis talks of experiencing racism in London store

Photo and copyright: Ken Mckay - Leona Lewis with her parents at the X Factor UK (2006)
Spotted on Madnews
Singer Leona Lewis talks about experiencing racism in a trendy London store. An experience that left her devastated and angry.

Via The Daily Mail

‘I went into a shop while my dad waited outside because he was on the phone,’ she says. ‘I picked out a few photo frames, put them on the side to buy them and asked the lady who worked there about some other stuff in the shop.

‘She was incredibly stand-offish with me and I couldn’t understand why. I went up to the till and, at that point, my dad came in and started looking around. He picked something up and said, “What about this?”

‘I asked how much it was, but the woman told us to get out of the shop. I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing and said, “Excuse me?” She said, “Get out of my store right now.”

‘I looked at her and asked, “Are you joking?” She said, “No, I want both of you to remove yourselves from my store.” I asked her what she meant, and why, and she said, “I don’t like the look of him.”

Pointing at my dad, she said, “I want him to go right now.” Stunned, I asked her, “What do you mean, you don’t like the look of him?” She said, “You know exactly what I mean. He’s been standing outside my shop and I want him to go. I know why you’re coming in here.”

‘She was implying that we were trying to steal stuff. She came up to my face, this close.’ Leona holds her hand a few inches from her face. ‘She was so loud, shouting, “Get out right now or I’m going to call the police.”

‘It was so shocking and disgusting. I couldn’t believe someone was shouting at me in front of so many people. I can’t stand confrontation anyway, but she was so rude. I completely lost it. I was crying and bawling. My dad said, “Come on, let’s go.” I said, “No. I’m not going. I’m going to call the police. This is racism.”

‘I was so angry. My dad had to drag me out of the shop. Afterwards, I sat in the car for ten minutes and was so upset. My dad was trying to calm me down but I was furious. What happened was awful – absolutely awful.

‘I’d never experienced anything like that, and I would never wish anyone else to. Being judged by the colour of your skin is horrible. My dad is really laid-back. He said, “Don’t worry about it. I’ve experienced stuff like that many times, especially when I was younger, so don’t be upset for me. I’m fine.”

‘Do you know what he did? He got my CD, went back in the shop and said, “You’ve just offended a really nice young lady. I just want to leave you this, so you can look and see who it is. This is my daughter. I’m not trying to cause trouble, but I wanted you to see that.”‘

I understand her father’s reaction, he wanted to show that his daughter is a famous singer. But this is racism, period. It's good Lewis talked about it, but they should really make a case of this and name the store.

And the MOBO winners 2009 are ...

The MOBO (Music of Black Origin) Awards took place yesterday (Sept 30th) at the SECC in Glasgow, Scotland.

According to Madnews, the organisers put on the best show in years.

But someone was pretty "pissed". Ex-Destiny's Child star Kelly Rowland Kelly has called for an apology from MOBO organisers, claiming that her performance at the awards ceremony was affected by poor sound quality. (Digital spy)

And Nneka won the Best African Act. On the photo Yolanda Brown who won an award in the category Best Jazz.

LIST OF 2009 MOBO WINNERS
Best UK Act: N-Dubz
Best Newcomer: JLS
Best Song: 'Beat Again', JLS
Best Album: 'Uncle B', N-Dubz
Best DJ: Trevor Nelson
Best Hip Hop: Chipmunk
Best R&B: Keri Hilson
Best International: Beyonce
Best Video: 'Single Ladies', Beyonce
Best Reggae: Sean Paul
Best Jazz: Yolanda Brown
Best Gospel: Victizzle
Best African Act: Nneka

The Winners of the Trophées des Arts Afro-Caribéens 2009 (Afro-Caribbean Arts Awards)

Photo and copyright: Régis Durand de Girard
It's official now. The Trophées des Arts Afro-Caribéens 2009 (the French Caribbean Arts Awards) have been given to the winners. Most interesting detail, the theme of most winners is slavery or black history. Best clip, best essay and best documentary have a slavery theme, and best film fiction is a film about a true story of colonial French black history. So listen and see the best of Afro-France in 2009. Also read the read the report of fxgpariscaraibe (French) here


Music

ARTISTE DE L'ANNÉE (Artist of the year)
Davy Sicard
Origin: Réunion










MEILLEUR GROUPE(Best group)
Magic System - Origin Ivory Coast








MEILLEUR CLIP (Best clip): Kamnouze
Kamnouse ft Fanny J mon Irreel






RÉVÉLATION DE L'ANNÉE (Revelation of the Year)
Erik
Origin: Guadeloupe











MEILLEUR ALBUM (Best Album)
Inspiration information vol 3 - Mulatu Astatké
Origin: Ethiopia / Grande-Bretagne








Literature

MEILLEUR ROMAN (Best novel): Les Caracteres sexuels secondaires - Tania de Montaigne
The anti-depression novel crucial for moments when you're having the blues, according to ELLE magazine It's the 3rd novel by Tania de Montaigne. The book is about a woman who got married and then left. A woman who returns home to her mother and asks how to be a woman like everyone else.




MEILLEUR ESSAI (Best essay): La France a-te-elle Aboli l’esclavage? - Nelly Schmidt
1848 marked the end of slavery for “the country of the rights of Man;” however, upon reading Nelly Schmidt’s scrupulous historical exploration, the question remains: “La France a-t-elle aboli l’esclavage?” [Did France abolish slavery?] or did it discretely pursue colonial politics in such a way as to secure a reservoir of cheap manpower and the control of overseas economy? In 1848, when France abolished slavery for the second time in its history, new colonial policies were set into place opening access to citizenship in Guadeloupe, Martinique, and French Guiana. Nevertheless, one century later, in the midst of social and economic disaster, the conditions of the “nouveaux libres” were not much different from the previous. Why?

Film

MEILLEURE FICTION (Best fiction): Aliker - Guy Deslauriers
Aliker, a new film by Guy Deslauriers, narrates the story of André Aliker, the Martinican journalist assassinated in 1934. The film is based on a script by Martinican novelist Patrick Chamoiseau.

André Aliker, a communist militant who wrote for Justice, the newspaper of the Martinican Communist Party, became widely known throughout the island as a champion of journalism as a form of free expression and as the means for the pursuit of the truth in the colonial context of Martinique in the 1930s. This commitment to free journalistic practice would cost him his life. The film, critics have said, shows what can be accomplished by a Creole film industry without access to the usual big budgets available in the industry. Read full story here




MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE(Best documentary)
Le pays à l’envers - Sylvaine Dampierre
Filmmaker Sylvaine Dampierre goes in search of her roots and personal history. Along the way, she intends to find the origin of her surname

Erik - Nominee Trophées des Arts Afro-Caribéens

Erik (Erik Chayé Kow), the 22 year old singer from Guadeloupe is one of the nominees of the Trophées des Arts Afro-Caribéens in the category Artist Revelation de L'annee (best newcomer of the year).

The French award ceremony will take place on Monday September 21th in Paris.

Erik's music is a mix of dancehall and Caribbean Jazz, but it also has a Zouk flavour in it. He is born in Pointe à Pitre, Guadeloupe, and grew up in a family of musicians. According to his MySpace bio:" At 22 he has taken his place in a new generation of highly talented and innovative West Indian singers."

I think he will be one of the artists who will walk away with an award on Monday September 21th.



See list of nominees best newcomer of the year

Offical website: Myspace Erik
Album : Chayé Cow
Label : Awimusic
Video: Si Ou Pa La

MOBO Awards 2009 - Launch and Nominees (UK)

Photo: Kanya King at the launch party
The anual MOBO Awards 2009 will be held in Glasgow (Scotland) this year on wednesday 30th September 2009. The launch party was held on the 26th August in London.

The Music of Black Origin (MOBO) Awards, established in 1995 by Irish/Ghanaian Kanya King MBE and Andy Ruffell are held annually in the United Kingdom to recognise artists of any race or nationality performing black music.

This year 2009 is a success for UK black talent. Years ago founder Kanya King complained of the lack of recognition for black artist in UK. And not so long ago it was R&B singer Estelle who made comments about Duffy and Adele and music industry racism. But things have changed.

On her blog founder Kanya King writes:" 2009 has been a phenomenal year for UK music, and it’s so good to see UK talent being recognized in the charts. We’ve worked long and hard to get to this point where all these talented UK Artists are finally getting the mainstream success they so deserve. We only have to take a look at the chart positions of Tinchy, Chipmunk, Alexandra Burke, N Dubz this year to see how far MOBO music has come. This is what we’ve been striving for and I’m really happy that UK music is being so widely acknowledged and indeed, celebrated. You just have to look at the calibre of the Best UK Act category to see how strong the UK scene is at the moment! And check out Beverley’s reaction on our video clip when she hears that she’s been nominated - what a beautiful moment. And I’ve just been told it’s her 10th MOBO Nomination! Wow." Read her full story here


Nominations

BEST UK ACT
Alesha Dixon
Bashy
Beverly Knight
Chipmunk
Dizzee Rascal
DJ Ironik
Donae’o
Mr. Hudson
N-Dubz
Tinchy Stryder

BEST NEWCOMER
Alexandra Burke
Jade Ewen
JLS
Laura Izibor
Master Shortie

BEST R&B / SOUL ACT
Beverly Knight
Ciara
Jeremih
Keri Hilson
Lemar

BEST HIP HOP ACT
Chipmunk
Dizzee Rascal
Drake
Eminem
Kanye West

See full list on nominations here

Michael Jackson alive!?

New evidence! Michael Jackson is alive. See the video! According to the Sun crazed fans believe MICHAEL JACKSON faked his own death to escape the pressures of fame, they believe their hero is still alive. Read the story here

Thousands have been logging onto websites to join conspiracy theories that the star is simply preparing for the ultimate comeback.

To be honest, I don't believe he is alive. But if he is still alive, I wont talk to him ever again!

Fekete Pákó. A Black Hungarian Super Star?

Fekete Pákó is the name of a TV star and singer in Hungary. His real name is Oludayo Olapite. He comes from Nigeria and came to Hungary in 1994 on scholarship to study Law, but later dropped out. His two Hungarian CDs have sold up to 31,000 copies. Enough to earn him golden platinum and make him a big star in Hungary.

On how he actually got into showbiz, Olapite recalls it was his friend, Molnár Sándor who came up with an idea. Sándor had asked what seemed to be a crazy question: "What if a black man sings Hungarian folklore?" The rest is now history.

You could think that the existence of a Black Hungarian TV personality is a beautiful example of integration and interculturalism within Europe. According to many, it’s quite the opposite. Fekete Pákó is a rather racist act that creates an image of sex obsessed, polygamous, human eating dummies.


The Hungarian tabloids are so obsessed with him to the extent of making him the spokesperson for Africans in Hungary even though it’s apparent that Pákó does not know much about African politics, culture and social life. Yet, they prefer him to those Hungarian Africans who are competent in this field, as well as speak more fluent Hungarian.

Headlines such as "Celeb Sex: Fekete Pákó in Online Cock Measuring Contest"; "Pákó Fekete Officially crowned Dumbest Hungarian"; "Cleb Dish: Szulak Stalked by "Cannibal" Pákó" is the kind of sensational misrepresentation you could read in Hungarian tabloids.

However, strong opposition comes from his own people. Fekete Pákó is not loved by his own people. Africans and especially Nigerians in Hungary simply hate him. They alleged he is denigrating black people in Hungary with his utterances and lifestyle.

Fredrick Konor, a Ghanaian who is a member of SANKOFA Cultural group, believes Pákó can’t sing but the guy has other characters like being funny, doing unexpected things that have lured Hungarian tabloids to him. "We should stop the jealousy," he says indignantly. "Our brother came from nowhere with a fresh idea to breakthrough a sector which is highly competitive. An African singing in Hungarian language!".

It’s true, he did something no one did before and he made a living out of it. And we could think if the likes of Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dr. Dre and 50Cent are not in the same way abusing ideas about black people to make a lot of money in the show business. But then again, maybe we should not take all this too seriously. Why not appreciate the irony and self mockery in all this?

This article was written thanks to an article from The Nation (Nigeria) by Olumide Olapite. Click here to read the full article.

First black Miss England sparks controversy

Rachel Christie is the first Miss England who is black. Christie, 20, a heptathlete from London, is the niece of Olympic gold medal-winning sprinter Linford Christie.

But her election has already sparked controversy. Not because she is black, but because she won with only nine votes from the public. The runner up won the public vote with 2,013 votes. But in spite of low public vote the organisers chose Rachel Christie as Miss England 2009.

The organisers defended their vote. Angie Beasley, director of Miss England, said the public played only a part in the contest, choosing one of the 15 top finalists with this vote amounting effectively to a seventh judge in the final selection. Read Organisers defend Miss England vote

See Uk blog Mad news for some black responses.

The Michael Jackson memorial was impressive

I've watched the Michael Jackson memorial, very impressive. A Dutch commentator said, it looked as if the black community took him back. And somehow it felt that way too. Especially the speech of Rev. Al Sharpton was powerful. He was right about that Michael Jackson paved the way for a lot of black people, including Obama.

Michael, we salute you too

Here's the video of the rehearsal two days before his death. Thanks to CNN for the footage. CNN reports that there is over 100 hours of rehearsal footage.

NewsOne.com covered the Apollo Theater Tribute to Michael Jackson the King of Pop. Those in attendance included Rev. Al Sharpton, film-maker Spike Lee, and of course his loyal and devoted fans of all ages.

The memorial service will be held on tuesday July 7th. Live broadcast in Europe will start at around 7pm.



Apollo Theater Tribute to Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson is dead

Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums -- including "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time has died. Michael Jackson, August 29 1958 – June 25 2009, became 50.

Rest in peace and thanks for the music and the memories.

This is my pick too.


Man In The Mirror 2

Sade prepares comeback after nine years

Sony records reports that Sade is working on the release to the long-awaited follow-up to 2000s “Lover’s Rock.”

According to Sony Sade is in the studio now, with plans to release an album by the end 2009. A source from the label told Billboard, “She is in the studio and the album will come when it is ready. You don’t wait for years for one and then rush it.”

Sade became famous with the album Diamond Life in 1984. With songs as Smooth Operator, Cherish The Day en Your Love Is King.

In 2002 Sade received the title Officer of the Order of the British Empire, she dedicated the title to all Afro-British woman.


The Sweetest Taboo (Diamond Life, 1984), performed live in 2001.


By your side (Lovers Rock, 2000), performed live in 2001.

Raphael Saadiq in Europe, '100 Yard Dash'

Raphael Saadiq is touring Europe from july 25th till sept 9th 2009.

From his early days as a member of the '80s group Tony! Toni! Tone! through his work as a producer with artists such as Joss Stone, The Roots, Snoop Dogg and John Legend, Raphael Saadiq [ tickets ] has always kept the faith--especially when labels told him there was no place in today's music for his stylish, '50s-inspired solo album, "The Way I See It."

"They said, 'You're a black American guy when there's only really, like, a blonde British girl [Joss Stone] singing this type of music. Where do you fit in?'" Saadiq recalled during a recent interview with LiveDaily.

At first I taught: this guy is from Europe!

Raphael Saadiq on Myspace
Check out video below

Jade Ewen will represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest

Jade Ewen will represent the UK at tomorrow's Eurovision Song Contest final in Moscow, having been chosen by BBC viewers as the best of the bunch on Eurovision: Your Country Needs You. She will perform "It's My Time", composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber especially for the competition.

Jade was born and brought up in Plaistow, London, to a Jamaican mother, Carol and a half British half Sicilian father, Trevor. Her father is blind and partially deaf, and her mother is partially blind. Because of her parents' disabilities, Jade has become a carer to both her parents and two younger siblings. Despite this, she managed to have dancing lessons from the age of three, and subsequently achieved a scholarship to the Sylvia Young Theatre. Later on she appeared in several theatre plays.

for more information Jade's offical website
And Jade Ewen on Myspace

The winners of the UK Screen Nation Film & TV Awards

On February the 7th the winners of the Screen Nation Film & TV Awards where announced. Naomi Harris (picture) is one of the winners. The awards are the Black Oscars of the UK. The Screen Nation Awards are a celebration of the achievements of black people working in film and television in the UK, and overseas.

The anticipated Screen Nation Awards 2008 listed to take place on the 7th of December had been rescheduled to February 2009 due to the difficulties faced by a key partner.

Screen Nation was founded by Charles Thompson, an Independent Producer with 18 years' experience in the UK film and television industry. Thompson was also the co-founder of the BFM Film Festival.

The winners - best actors and best actress list

Male Performance in Film - Ashley Walters
In Bullit Boy
British actor (London 1982) of Jamaican descent



Male Performance in TV - David Oyelowo
Played in the TV film Five Days and appeared in film The Last king of Scotland
English actor (Oxford, 1976) of Nigerian descent




Female Performance in TV - Naomi Harris
Appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and At World's End
British actress (London, 1976)of Jamaican descent




Favourite Male TV Star (Public Voting) - Hugh Quarishie
Played as Captain Panaka, head of the Royal Naboo Security Force in the film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
British actor (Ghana, 1954)





Favourite Female TV Star (Public Voting) - Tiane Benjamin
Appeared in Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and also played Chelsea Fox in the long running
English actress (London 1984) of Sierra Leonean descent



Watch:
watch the Screen Nation red carpet video at Leicester Square TV

Full winners list

Outstanding Contribution - WHOOPI GOLDBERG

Edric Connor Inspiration - DON WARRINGTON

Vanguard in Production - TRIX WORRELL

Vanguard in Hair & Makeup Design - SHARON MARTIN

Achievement in Film Production - ADULTHOOD

Achievement in African Film Production - JERUSALEMA

Male Performance in Film - ASHLEY WALTERS

Male Performance in TV - DAVID OYELOWO

Female Performance in TV - NAOMI HARRIS

Favourite Male TV Star (PUBLIC VOTING) - HUGH QUARSHIE

Favourite Female TV Star (PUBLIC VOTING) - TIANA BENJAMIN

Independent Spirit Film Production - MELVIN: CHRONICLES OF A PLAYER - LAWRENCE COKE

Diversity in Factual Production - BLACK POWER SALUTE

Diversity in Drama Production - THE BILL

Best Music Performance on Film/TV (PUBLIC VOTING) – BASHY

Achievement in Screenwriting - ROY WILLIAMS (FALLOUT)

Emerging Talent - NONSO ANOZIE

Young Shooting Star - ADAM DEACON

Technorati Profile

Black celebrities speak about Obama

Entertainers, movie stars and celeb athletes share their private feelings about Obama. Thanks to the The Glamazon Chronicles

Estelle was right about the music business

Remember Estelle's comments she made about Duffy and Adele concerning music industry racism? One example is the difference between UK/European version of the video ‘Mercy’ and the US version of the video. In Uk/European version of the video there are only white people, in the US version there are numerous black people.

UK/European version


US version

Why the difference? Is the record company Polydor afraid of a bad response the US, because there are trying to sell music of a white European singer who sings black American music? And why are the black folks left out in the UK/European version?

It must be all carefully planned, because the big record labels are all part of the global conglomerate Universal Music Group (UMG). So Estelle, this is not a UK thing.

New Miss France wants to speak openly about race?

It's old news but Chloe Mortaud is the new Miss France 2009. Mortaud is not the first non-white winner of the miss event, but she want to join the French public figures who want to speak openly about race. Is this the 'Obama effect'?

Patrick Lozes, founder of the Conseil Représentatif des Associations Noires (CRAN), sees Mourtad as a sign that French is changing. So who am I to believe that Mortaud's remarks are just another way to say 'world peace'. But it's clear that if you are black in France, staying race neutral in this periode is old fashion. So maybe this is the Obama effect.

Mortaud is the daughter of a Black American mother (who emigrated from Mississippi to France 25 years ago) and a White French father. Ms. Mortaud is a business student and the first Miss France to hold dual citizenship, American and French

Read:
New Miss France wants to advertise nation’s diversity
Blog of Patrick Lozes

UK singer Estelle attacks white soul music

In March 2008 singer and songwriter Estelle, attacked the British music industry and white soul music. In an interview she expressed her grief by singling out Adele and Duffy, she said: "I'm not mad at them, but I'm wondering - how the hell is there not a single black person in the press singing soul? Adele ain't soul. She sounds like she heard some Aretha records once, and she's got a deeper voice - that don't mean she's soul. That don't mean nothing to me in the grand scheme of my life as a black person. As a songwriter, I get what they do. As a black person, I'm like: you're telling me this is my music? Fuck that!" Afterwards she said her remarks where completed blown out of proportion.

But the Black Music Congress in the UK organized a debat about the topic. In their press release for the debate they highlighted racism and lack of commitment by the big record companies in developing and marketing British black music talent. They highlighted the fact that white artists such as Amy Winehouse and Lily Allen sell black music.

Interesting where the questions in the debate. What if the overwhelming white population of Britain prefer black music performed by white artists? And also, as the record companies are commercial entities, why should they invest in African British talent when they believe that these artists seldom sell?

But I think the future of black soul looks grim. Jazz used to be the exclusive domain of black people the US, nowadays the scene is packed with white musicians from Europe. Even black people call jazz ‘the white man’s music’. And look what happened to rock! And Hip Hop? Even that will stop, at least for black people. I am afraid that in twenty years time black Soul music will just be on the topics list of our annual black history month.

Read:>Estelle Weighs in on 'Blue-Eyed' Soul in the UK, Brings Sass