TheHotness #5
You are African?
If it’s not Bono, it’s George Clooney, or it’s Angelina and her man all doing whatever they can for Africa in Africa– adopting children, having babies, feeding families, building wells, and slowly becoming synonymous with Africa and it’s albeit small step toward revitalization. It’s crazy on a number of levels because although I am delighted by their charitable work in DarFur, Namibia, Ethiopia, Capetown, et. al., (where the hell is Beyonce and Jay-Z when there is a politico-cultural crisis in the Motherland?), I am seeing a strange trend whereas these charitable efforts are slowly becoming trendy, like Hermes bags trendy and I can’t help but wonder how long will it be before these celebrities end up replacing the (Black) face of African strife with one of White happiness and fulfillment. Well, I didn’t have to wait that long. Have you seen the Gwyneth ad for AIDS awareness in Africa? Beads and violet and aqua tribal markings and all! You gotta love the spoof someone did of the ad featuring an African woman that says:
Help us stop the shameless fame whores from using the suffering of those dying from AIDS in Africa to bolster their pathetic careers now that they are no longer dating Brad Pitt and no one gives a sh*t about them. Just kiss my Black a$s to help.
No doubt there is something a simmering over in Africa. Even today’s NY Times is highlighting the buzzworthiness of African humanitarianism. I’m just wondering where’s the hiphop cognescenti? Puff, Mary, Jay (yeah I know he’s busy banning Cristal within all bling ciphers), Kanye and the rest of them cats. It’s so ill to me when all I see is Clef and Oprah volunteering their time and money for global (read Afrian) causes. It seems as if my generation of folk are too busy chilling in St. Tropez or Capri (or too busy dreaming about vacationing there) to give a goat’s tail about the crisis of AIDS in South Africa. And it’s not just them.
Last month I was having dinner at Aquavit with a friend who was born in Mozambique, but currently lives in Johannesburg and also with some of his friends who live here. When they spoke of their travels and adventures in Africa thay talked about how wonderful the beaches were in Namibia and how amazing the dunes are in S. Africa. I haven’t been to Africa yet so I listened as my homey from Joburg took everyone’s love for the African high-life and raised them one by declaring how he was going to build a resort… in Zimbabwe, I believe. We all toasted him with glasses of Vergelegen–aka “V” (the wine was off the chain, I can’t lie, but I thought it was a tad ironic that De Beers, the scandalized diamond corporation, owned the winery that produced it). Anyway there was no talk of crisis, genocide or famine. Especially not while we munched on Marcus Samuelsson’s Foie Gras Ganache and Yellowtail Tartar. I must admit, it was every bit as nauseating and self-absorbed.
I don’t care how corny, cliche or naive I may sound, but when I go to Africa I’m going for the culture and for the people. I want to go to the shanty towns and hear some music and eat homecooked food. I want to go fishing and hang with young women my age and talk about politics, art, entrepreneurship and relationships. I wanna get drrrty while there and not play Hollywood or PG County to be more to the point. Yes I want to see the beaches, go on a safari and sip some V, but I also want to experience the grime and chaos. I’m a Black Grrrl from the BX. I can’t help but keep it real African. That’s just who I am.
Continue reading more of Nicole Moore’s musings at http://thehotnessgrrrl.blogspot.com or join up for her cutting edge ezine at http://www.TheHotness.com
Message Nicole Moore and let her know what you think
By Nicole Moore on 8/18/2006
[read on] 
[11 comments]
The 2-Way
11 comments
Crusade galleries
posted by: Deka on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
yes everyone needs to go sometime. I haven’t been there yet but looking forward to Snowboarding there in South Africa and Morrocco. yeah I’ll be the first from Brooklyn to make that happen
posted by: Lion-ess on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
I couldn’t agree with u more!
Who needs an African American CELEBRITY to step up to the plate 2 show Africa that “we do care?” Hey, I’m just a young, African American women from the block. And I’m ready to depart from this American dream,competing in a never ending rat race of a 9-5world..pack my bags in 5..4..3..2.. and donate my life and time to and for the cause….and that’s my word!
posted by: KeNYC on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
I love Africa. It’s a shame we (African Americans) don’t take advantage of what Africa has to offer. I’m glad you want to visit and get down and dirty. You can do that there but like your freinds were saying there’s another life there too. You can’t miss it. There are Africans loaded with money and then there’s the shanty towns. While everyone runs to St. Tropez, they should give Mombasa (Kenya) a try. Brad Pitt vacations there. South Africa is off the chain, they even have a fashion week. Nairobi has some hot nightclubs. There’s a couple of hot Islands off the southeastern coast..FIRE. Anyway whatever you want to do whether it’s help the poor, or live fabolously, it can be done in Africa. It’s a shame most African Americans just equate Africa with jungles, bushes, and AIDS!!!
posted by: theHotness Grrrl aka nixoplix on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
KeNyc- Yeah I hear ya! Great info. I want to do both. Oprah is throwing a New Year’s party in JoBurg this January– would love to be there. Either way I want to see all dimmensions of African life– fabulous & gritty. BTW– what are the names of those islands? I was trying think of them? Are they the Morishes?
Lion-ess - I hear you. There’s this organization– My Sister’s Keeper– that I am looking into now.
posted by: Anonymous on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
Jay-Z helps U.N. focus on water crisis.
http://www.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-08-09-jay-z-water_x.htm
“Jay-Z said he wants to build 1,000 “play pumps” in Africa by the time the tour is over. The device features a rudimentary merry-go-round that pumps water from a well into a storage tank as it spins.”
It’s a start and maybe other people in the hip hop world will follow suit.
posted by: KeNYC on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
Hey Hotness,
It’s the Seychelles.
posted by: Mpho aka Thabo on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
Hi,I’m a 21 yr old guy living in South Africa,Soweto,and it’s great to hear positive things being said about Africa.We usually hear the nagative stuff about us but we [South Africa] are also very modernised.
You’ve got to go to Cape Town and you’ll realize that africa it’s not just about jungles and all.In fact,I had a white “friend” who came from the
States in 2003 and [he] was very surprised when we went to Cape Town.Seeing,the modern infrastructure and so many white people [who live here],he went like “Wow,I can’t belive it.Is this Africa?”.
I think if each of you can come once to South Africa,just once,you’ll realize better things about South Africa and perceptions [about Africa] will end.
Yes,there’s poverty,AIDS,crime etc but within that there’s the positives.I personally live in the ghetto,in a shack,but I study at the University of Cape Town and I’ve got a good job but I will live here till i die [Soweto] till I die.There are celebrities,millionares etc who [still] live here,right in middle of crime,poverty,and violance.
Life here is a little strange;on the one hand you have millionares and billionares [in American dollars] and live in some of the surburbs better that others in the developed world,but on the other extreme,it’s people who live in dire poverty.The problem in south Africa is not so much poverty but the gap between the rich and the poor.The poor get pooer while the rich get richer by the day.
Only if the destitute can be halped with as little as possible can we see then being empowered.How do you study when you hungry? I used to go to school without food for days while in the same the’ll be students who drive the latest cars.
The problem with rich Africans is they are selfish and they don’t plough back to their communities…
posted by: hselpakod@mail.com on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
drevow iexswqjzb silfnotpq uqmzkw dsixbjwp dqnutwoxr jube
posted by: msrku@mail.com on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
ypkgabhcq nmfkvqc dahwsfyun fqwjgci avhc hyqgw tcuka http://www.cfkhr.rmkzcaj.com
posted by: salurt@hotmail.com on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
http://miniclips.dyyz.info/ miniclips
posted by: adena on 08/18/2006 at 9:33 am
We are sell DDO, Dungeons