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Showing posts from November, 2023

DISABILITY IS NOT INABILITY

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 Israel Vibration are a reggae harmony group originating from Kingston Jamaica Lascelle "Wiss' Bulgin" Albert "Apple Gabriel" Craig and Cecil 'Skelly' Spence all contracted childhood polio and went on to be a Jamaica roots reggae group in the 1970s. The trio initially met as children at a rehabilitation centre. The three young men had several points in common; a passions for the close harmony reggae singing popular at the time, an interest in Rastafarianism, and the experiences of polio and institutionalisation. Their first performance was at a theological college next door to the centre. When they left the centre some other Rastafarians rejected them, seeing their impairment as a punitive sign from God. They had songs like  Tippy tippy toes, Level every angle emphasis the visual and sonic narrative of disability, It is not difficult to hear the latter extending the fairly standard post civil rights and post Bob Marley theriac of one love reggae into a k...

HOLLYWOOD'S FIRST FEMALE DIRECTOR.

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  Maya Angelou died at 86 years, She had a broad career as a singer, dancer, actor composer and "Hollywood's first female director" but most famous as a writer, editor, playwright and poet. As a civil rights activist Angelou worked for Martin Luther King JR and Malcom X. Maya inspired us with both the beauty and call to action of her words. Her most famous work is I know why the caged bird sings, An autobiography about her childhood, The book is a testament of the need of resilience in the face of discrimination , Never hesitant to speak her mind , Angelou passionately defended the rights of women, young people and the ignored. She effortlessly traversed the words of literature and activism, becoming a confidant to the original civil rights leaders, their successors and current generation, The former singer and actor as well as the first female black streetcar conductor in San Francisco. She also put her imprint on the world of celebrities, mentoring Oprah Winfrey , instr...

A STATESMAN OF CONSCIOUS HIPHOP.

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 Talib Kweli is a fixture of the New York underground scene in the late '90s and 2002 has weaved activism in his music for his entire career, His collaboration with MOS DEF together called Black Star and solo work has spawned multiple albums meditating on issues like mass incarcerations, and police brutality. Throughout his career he has advocated for social justice and black lives matter protests. Kweli is a "statesman of conscious hip hop". He is also an urgent and vital recording artist who has adapted to the seismic shifts in the music industry and maintains an important presence in the genre. A hip hop pioneer fed on a diet of classic and golden age rap. He found early mainstream success. Kweli made classic tracks like  GET BY a collaboration with Kanye West, DEFINATION a track he recorded with Mos Def and his classic debut album QUALITY, His discography is a dazzling diverse testament to the scope and breadth of Kweli's talent and his reverence for not only his ...

ROLLING STONE INFLUENCE ON SOCIETY.

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The rolling stone are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active across seven decades, they are one of the popular and enduring bands of the rock era in the early 1960. the band pioneered the gritty rhythmically driven sound that came to define hard rock. Many observers saw rock and roll as heralding the way of desegregation, in creating a new form of music that encouraged racial cooperation and charred experience, many authorities have argued that early rook and roll was instrumental in the way both whites and black teenager identified themselves. The early stones in particular helped make the blues widely popular among young Britons as the stones fame grew . They became part of the mid 1960's British "invasion" of America, they also introduced the blues to American listeners most notably young audiences with limited exposure to music. Though started out covering blue songs, the joint composing work of  JAGGER AND RICHARDS, is one of the most successful songwr...