I interviewed Measha back in 2007 when she was touring with the Cleveland Orchestra. It was such a pleasure to see her on NBC, singing before an audience of 3.2 BILLION people!!

In case you missed her performance, click here to see the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, and to hear Measha’s Olympic hymn. Her hair, her makeup, her dress — all looked AMAZING. Click here to visit her official website, and click here to read my interview from 2007!

Measha, you continue to make Afrobellas everywhere very proud! Keep shining!

Related posts:

1. Measha Brueggergosman, Rare Opera Diva and Afrobella of the Week
2. Big Up Jamaica!
3. Marion Jones is in Prison. Don’tcha Feel Safe?

In the music industry today, finding artists who truly understand the importance and effect of their image is rare. Even moreso when it comes to females. It can seem like socially conscious musicians like Queen Latifah, Lauryn Hill, Tanya Stephens, and India Arie are anomalies of the industry. Compare their success to the stars who get the magazine cover shine today. Sometimes when I listen to the radio or watch music videos on TV, I’m filled with an overwhelming feeling of despair and unbelonging.

See, I’m a bella who’s constantly seeking music that uplifts, enlightens, and informs. So when Queen Ifrica came on the scene, I sat up and took notice.

I clearly remember the first time I heard her voice — at first I thought she was a dude, simply because her intonation in the chorus of Daddy is so deep. The lyrical content is so heavy. In case you’ve never heard Daddy, click here to experience it. Be forewarned – it’s not every day a song about incest becomes a hit reggae song.

Tackling heavy subject matter head on is what Queen Ifrica does. Name another female artist who’s addressed a topic as controversial as skin bleaching in the Caribbean — a chronic problem as revealed here.

“My complexion is better than ever!”

I love her spirit and her sentiment.

I recently had an opportunity to interview Queen Ifrica, and it was beyond fantastic. We chatted for an hour about everything from her musical influences to Michael Jackson, to her views on hair and homosexuality. Will this post end in a giveaway? read on and find out!

Queen Ifrica was born into music. The daughter of ska legend Derrick Morgan, she was mentored by the legendary Tony Rebel. Music has always been her destiny.

“I can say that music realy chose me. I was living in the rasta community, so I’m just being myself in my belief of self-fulfillment,” she revealed.

Although Queen Ifrica’s music is steeped in reggae — she is equally adept at chanting as she is at singing — her sound cannot be limited to traditional reggae music. Elements of R&B and modern soul are evident on her latest album, Montego Bay.

Lioness On The Rise is the first single, and I love the down-to-earth vibe of the video.

Ifrica admitted to having diverse interests and influences. “Reggae is the foundation of it, but I don’t put a boundary on my music. Music has no boundaries.”

One thing I particularly wanted to ask Ifrica about was her position on the other females making waves in music today. Whether it’s in Jamaica or around the world, sex sells and artists are doing everything up to and including bending over backwards to get attention and sell records.

“I guess that’s what the culture of what society is all about. Sex is a big market. But if you don’t think about who you are and what you stand for, then what is it worth? My thing is, when all of this is past and gone, what are you going to think when you look back on life? You don’t want to look back on your legacy and be ashamed of anything. Especially for Caribbean women in the music, don’t let yourself be a platform for someone else’s message. Female artists – we might be in a male dominated industry, but you don’t have to play their role to fit into it. It’s about personal reponsibility for your actions. But at the same time, I am not a saint!” she said with a knowing chuckle.

Ifrica credits the female influences are leading the path that she’s currently on. And I found some of them a bit surprising!

“My female role models are Miriam Makeba, I love Sister Carol, Sister Nancy, and Nina Simone. I admire Beyonce and Alicia Keys because of what they do outside of music. Same with Angelina Jolie because she is a humanitarian. We can all be responsible and make a difference in this world.”

Being charitably conscious is of tremendous importance to Queen Ifrica, and many of her songs address the inequalities and poverty that plagues Jamaica and other Caribbean islands. But Ifrica wanted to make clear – her songs aren’t solely targeted at her homeland.

“The topics I address aren’t just things that affect us here in Jamaica. It is wherever the poor are concentrated all over the world. Men make war and rumors of war. But love is the greatest defense.”

We chatted about several of her songs and the motivations behind them, but one in particular lingered with me and motivated me to seek out this interview to begin with. I had to ask her about Mi Naah Rub, her anti-skin bleaching anthem. So few artists have addressed this topic, particularly in a sensible and outreaching manner. I could tell it was close to Ifrica’s heart.

“In Jamaica here, it is sad to walk into the garrison and see the level of skin bleaching. There is no label on these products and the smell is beyond terrible. The goverment doesn’t intervene and there is nobody coming in to combat the importation of these products. The insecurities is what they are feeding on. I have so many ladies who come to me and tell me about the problems it has caused them. I tell them – love yourself, look at yourself in the mirror and love yourself. And artists are encouraging women to bleach their skin and walk about naked. Why is it so important to then to destroy a nation that used to love itself and see itself as beautiful? From the forums I do, I see that love and self love are hard to find in the community. It is a slavish mentality many have, and it is the individuals who have to be willing to change.”

All of our talk about skin bleaching and learning to love one’s appearance led us to discuss an individual who came to symbolize so many of our collective issues — Michael Jackson. Ifrica became extremely animated when discussing the tragically deceased King of Pop.

“I’ve been a Michael Jackson fan from day one. Michael Jackson was a youth who was a victim of this very same thing, this self hatred. I think he is the ultimate example. His dad was his greatest downfall in this life — telling him he is ugly, he is black, he has a big nose, don’t love yourself as you are born to be. There are so many men and women like Missa Joe, so hard to the world. It is a subliminal thing. Until we as a people learn to overcome it, there will not be change.”

One topic I especially wanted to ask Ifrica about was — duh — hair. That’s what so much of Afrobella is about, and being a proud rasta woman I knew she’d have wisdom to share. Ifrica gladly went back to the roots.

“I started growing my locs, really at age 15. I had locs before that and my aunts combed it out. So briefly I had straightened hair,” she recalled. But of course, that didn’t last long.

“You don’t have to be a rasta who hails Jah Rastafari to grow dreadlocks. But for me it was a part of my life, of my tribe. There was something in me that — it is an inborn need.”

I noticed that she referred to her hair as “dreadlocks.” Having been previously chastised by readers for using that term, I had to ask her — how does she feel about the word? Would she call them locs, or dreadlocks? Why or why not?

“I am a dreadlocks rasta woman,” she stated simply, and with great pride. “The debate over words… it comes from people who are familiar with it but they don’t truly overstand what it means, or the significance behind it all. It’s RASTA, it’s DREADLOCKS. That is what I believe,” she said.

Well alright, Queen!

I understood where she was coming from; as someone who grew up in a country where this hair is more than a style, I never before encountered anyone who shunned the word “dread” until I moved to America. Where many will argue that there’s “nothing dreadful about locs,” Ifrica and many of the rastafarians I have known in my life would counter, “there’s nothing dreadful about being a natty dread.”

Either way, it’s semantics. We quickly moved past questions about words, and I had to ask for some tips for my rastabellas. What was the best advice she could pass along to those who wear locs? Queen Ifrica had much knowledge to impart. Here are her best tips:

– “For those who love to twist… it’s not the healthiest thing to do. It can thin out your hair and break it. Locks are formed from the residue you would normally comb out from your hair, that is what grows it. So just let them grow.

– Castor oil is a VERY good thing. And for those who hate the smell, there’s a scented castor oil now.

– Wash your hair only when it is itching. You don’t need to wash it all that often. The natural oils are important to the health of your hair. Washing can strip them out.

– The hair is very soft, no matter how it looks – it is actually very soft to the touch. So you need products that nurture it. In Jamaica there’s the Mango and Lime products. They are excellent. I love the leave in moisturizer. It has all natural ingredients, cactus is part of it. Any hemp based products are very good for dreadlocks, too.”

Before the interview ended, I had to ask about a touchy issue that quite honestly, I make a point to ask every reggae artist I’ve been lucky enough to interview thus far. I ask the question simply because I want to know and understand the root of this controversial issue as it affects reggae and dancehall musicians. I want to understand, because I don’t agree with the hatred. So I asked — Queen Ifrica, what are your views on homosexuality? I was extremely, pleasantly surprised by the complexity and consideration of her response.

“I don’t delve into it a lot, but I believe we have to fully understand what being gay is before we have a discussion. There needs to be hope, and an acceptance of every individual. I don’t think everybody who is gay truly wants to be gay. I say this because, especially since I wrote the song Daddy, I have been in touch with many gay people who will tell you they have been abused at some time in their life. Until we can sit down and see eye to eye, we should reserve judgment. I would love to sit down and have a televised, public, eye to eye discussion with the gay leaders here. But In Jamaica, we are so hypocritical. It is not as homophobic as it seems. There are actually a lot of gay people who live and are happy and safe here in Jamaica,” she said.

I was surprised to hear that, because it’s not the impression you get from the horrific news articles that make international headlines. But the same goes in Trinidad – as I have already stated on more than one occasion, I’ve got gay relatives and grew up with close friends who are gay. And growing up in the Caribbean, you’re exposed to a great deal of ignorance about what “causes” homosexuality, and I’ve had to cut good friends off for intolerable levels of ignorance over this very touchy topic.

Ifrica continued.

“I was watching a documentary on TV about a gay teenager recently, and he was in so much turmoil. He needed a hug. I wanted to hug him and tell him, don’t force yourself to be who you are not. Go through what you have to go through. But on the other hand, I would love the gay community to allow people to speak their mind. Look at the Miss California scandal. You should be able to express your feelings without being shouted down.”

Ifrica ended that topic on a straight talk note — “People need to think more about situations like Darfur and look at people who don’t have a gay or straight problem. They have a surviving day to day problem.”

It is those people who Ifrica is focusing her attentions on most of all these days. She’s working on getting her foundation off the ground, dedicated to a close friend who lost his life due to senseless violence. In his honor, she ventures into poor communities and speaks to children who need a boost in knowledge and self esteem. In his honor, she’s donating computers and books to the youths in Jamaica’s garrisons. She plans to tour, for sure. Check the VP Records website for details on that. But more than anything, Ifrica plans to do good works for those who listen to her music and her message, and for those who she can physically affect with her presence.

And now here’s your turn, bellas! My friends at VP Records will give 3 copies of her brand new CD, Montego Bay to three lucky readers. All you have to do is leave a comment below, telling me which of Queen Ifrica’s songs you like the best — she’s got several videos on YouTube. I’ll close comments Friday and pick winners over the weekend.

Big, big respect to Queen Ifrica. I sense we’re going to hear a lot from this beautiful lioness on the rise in years to come. Congratulations, and thanks for being my first Afrobella of the Month in more than a minute!

Related posts:

1. Queen Ifrica Giveaway Winners
2. The Glorious Return of Afrobella of the Month — Janelle Monae
3. Afrobella of the Week: Marcia Griffiths, Queen of Reggae

She can rap. She can sing. She can spit a mean spoken word verse. She’s a blogger and a cable television personality, and an internet television personality and an artist. She’s a hip hop diva with Caribbean roots who isn’t afraid to blaze her own trail.

To say she’s bold and ambitious is an understatement. She’s exactly the kind of role model I’m looking to in my own time of transition.

All this and more makes her a perfect Afrobella of the Month for these ever-changing times.

I interviewed Amanda forever ago, in like mid-2008. But I saved a stash of awesome interviews for the time when I could bring them to life in a fuller fashion.

Thanks to the incredible skill of my video editor Gisele Parson, we’re finally able to make that happen.

Bellas, I present to you the tour-de-force that is Amanda Diva.

I know I’m biased, but I need to shout about it — I love what Gisele is doing with the images! Please show her some love if you feel the same. And my next task is to work on getting better quality audio for my interviews. Apologies for the volume level and clarity there.

For those of you at work who can’t peep the video, we chat about the cookie cutter image of women in hip hop, being asked to alter your image in the music industry, and defining yourself when you do so many things so well.

Amanda Diva is an inspiration to me as a Caribbean woman, as a writer making her way in an everchanging media landscape, and as a bella with a head for good music.

Peep her style in Q-Tip’s video for ManWomanBoogie.

LOVE her hair in that video. Amanda cited one hair product as her absolute favorite — Let’s Jam!, and when I interviewed her, she declared her video for Windows Over Harlem as her absolute favorite. HOW much fun must that video shoot have been?

Diva is the definition of a hustler, and nobody can knock that. By carrying herself as an intelligent, beautiful, outspoken MC in the ever-shrinking female rap spotlight, she’s automatically set herself apart from the pack.

Thanks to her Twitter, blog, DivaSpeakTV, her YouTube channel, and her MySpace page, fans can stay in the loop with all things Amanda Diva. She’s a multi-talented media master, for real.

Click here to download her latest “freEP”, Spandex, Rhymes & Soul, and click here to buy her album, Life Experience.

Dynamic, talented, and going places. Amanda Diva is proof that it’s possible to do it all. Thanks for the interview, Amanda — congratulations, you’re Afrobella of the Month! Keep on doing big things and making us proud!

Related posts:

1. The Glorious Return of Afrobella of the Month — Janelle Monae
2. Afrobella of the Month — Alison Hinds, The Other Barbadian Music Goddess
3. Afrobella of the Month* — Farai Chideya

I started hot and heavy in 2006, but I found myself becoming overwhelmed, which resulted in a feeling of inability. I had a vision of a YouTube Channel where I could upload concert videos, beauty tips, and especially, especially awesome interviews with celebrity bellas who inspire me through their style, their music, their hair, and their personalities. Like my Esperanza Spalding interview, but better. Seriously, that one YouTube clip took me forever to complete, and I still see SO much room for improvement. So anyway, I kept getting these opportunities to interview people, and I didn’t know what to do with them, and…you get the picture.

I had a project in mind, but I knew I couldn’t undertake it alone. So I put out a Help Wanted blog post back in November, and that, bellas, is how I discovered Gisele Parson, a video editor and motion graphics designer in NYC who reached out and wanted to bring my vision to life. Check out her demo reel and her portfolio page, and you’ll see why I went with her. Gisele is crazy talented! And I knew with talent like hers, she could help to realize my dreams. I am so happy to be working with Gisele!

I am honored and thrilled to kick off the new year by bringing back the Afrobella of the Month series, by honoring a previously celebrated bella. I’m talking about the lovely and talented Miss Janelle Monae!

To me, Janelle is one of the ultimate symbols of what Afrobella is all about. She loves her all-natural pompadour, she is unafraid to speak her mind or express her personal style, and she most certainly marches to her own funky beat. Fiercely creative, bold, and beautiful. You can either get with Miss Monae, or make way for her. I interviewed her right around my second anniversary, and finally, finally I can share that interview with you all!

We chatted for over 40 minutes, and with Gisele’s editorial eye, we whittled the interview down to three video clips. In part one, we got the hair questions out of the way. Everything Janelle does, she does with purpose — her hair is an important part of who she is.

In part two, Janelle puts the smackdown on dudes yelling in the studio while she’s doing an interview (LOL!). She doesn’t skip a beat while addressing questions about her role in the music industry. Janelle explains Wondaland Arts and her relationship with Big Boi, Diddy, and Bad Boy Records.

In part three, we talk about her look, and the fact that she’s frequently compared to male musicians as versus females. Janelle cites some of her female influences (hello, Grace Jones!) and her goals.

“I’m trying to help redefine the way a woman can perform, the way a woman can wear her hair, the way a woman can dress. I’m so tired of the stereotypes that women have.”

I cannot tell you all how wonderful it was to speak with Janelle, to hear her express admiration and respect for Afrobella, and to find out what inspires her, and to hear about her plans for the future. Keep an eye on her news page to see what she’s up to next — and if you haven’t yet copped Metropolis: The Chase Suite, what are you waiting for?

So bellas, what’d you think? Gisele and I will be working on more exciting videos in the months to come, so keep your eyes on the Afrobella channel!

Related posts:

1. Afrobella of the Week: Janelle Monae
2. The Glorious Return of Worth a Click
3. Afrobella of the Month – Amanda Diva

Rihanna is fly. Rihanna is beautiful. Rihanna is becoming quite sexy. I say becoming, because compared to Alison Hinds, the reigning queen of soca, Rihanna is still not yet a woman (despite her newly acquired penchant for voguing in fetish gear). Alison Hinds has that grown and sexy thing down pat, and she’s been one of the Caribbean’s most popular entertainers for over a decade now. She was the pride of Barbados back when Rih Rih was singing Hero in school. In case you’ve never heard of her before, allow me to introduce you to the amazing Alison Hinds.

Born in England, she moved to Barbados at age 11. From then, she was steeped in soca. According to Wikipedia, she joined the band Square One in 1986, and played just about every hot club and fete in Barbados and the Caribbean islands en route to fame and fortune — dropping hits like One For the Road in 1992. Square One’s star was rising in Barbados, but not throughout the island archipelago just yet. In Trinidad, the first I heard of Alison Hinds was with her monster hit, Raggamuffin, in 1996. That song won Alison Hinds her first road march victory at Crop Over — the first time a woman had won the honor in Barbados. Raggamuffin was a certified hit throughout the islands, and ushered in what Trinis referred to as “The Bajan Invasion.” After that, everyone waited with anticipation to hear what Alison and Square One was about to drop next. Her commanding voice became like a rally cry for the party to kick into high gear. She singlehandedly changed the face of soca and paved the way for the younger generation of female frontwomen to come. As she says in this feature in Vibe magazine — “Several female soca artists have told me, “You inspired me so I could do this too.” I feel like I’ve had a huge impact on young Caribbean women.” She really has. Her combination of strength and sexuality has become a blueprint for the genre. Every up-and-coming soca starlet dreams of being Alison.

After Raggamuffin, Alison’s career took off like a rocket. It was hit after hit — DJ Ride, Iron Bazodee, Togetherness (that is the workout jam right there!) and my favorite of all favorites — the song from Suriname that Alison made an international hit, still a sure fire party starter all these years later — Faluma. Alison sings it in a Surinamese dialect called Sranan Tongo, and language aside, you probably won’t be able to get it out of your head once you hear the chorus. (I also find it hilarious how English-speaking Caribbean people will try to sing along when nobody has any idea what the lyrics are besides “faluma ding ding ding.”) Faluma became a huge hit in random and unexpected countries — apparently it was number one in Guatemala for an unprecedented 49 weeks!

Alison is a soca star and her music is party music. So of course she’s sexy and sometimes scandalous, but she’s never nasty. She’s very aware of what her individual audiences want — peep this video where she explains the subtle differences between Barbadian and Trinidadian audiences. In that interview, Alison also promises to stay true to her Caribbean roots on her then-upcoming solo project. “I am a Caribbean woman at the end of the day so I have to stay true to my roots and to who I am and what I am about,” she declares, and as an island woman, that makes me happy. That means that Alison is not only aware of her strengths, but it also means her strengths are in her roots. She will never forget where she comes from, lose her identity and move wholesale into the lucrative grips of hip hop or R&B. If and when she does, it’ll be on her own terms, repping the islands to the fullest. In that interview (which is also featured online at Jouvay.com), Alison dismisses the rumors that she was splitting from her band, Square One. That was in 2003, before her solo album dropped, and before she had her baby girl Saharan in 2004. Now Alison is a solo artist, and her crowning achievement is Roll It Gyal, which she released in 2005. Here’s the video, which is H-O-T.

Now Roll it Gyal might take some of you by surprise — there are definitely more scantily clad, gyrating women than you might expect from the typical Afrobella musical feature. Don’t let the images fool you into thinking this is a hoochie mama video. Behind the in-your-face sexuality, there’s a refreshing message. Here are the lyrics. This is the bridge —

“Go to school gyal and get your degree
Nurture and take care of your pickney
Gyal you work hard to make your money.

If you know you smart and you sexy
Never let them abuse you body
Show it off gyal and let the world see,
Roll it gyal, roll it gyal.”

Check it out for yourself and tell me what you think.

Listen to that beat, her flow, and the message. She’s got the whole package. Now tell me why this song never made it on to like, MTV Jams or 106 and Park along with the rest of the crap? It dropped in 2005, but to me, this still sounds fresh, it’s just as sexy a video as anything you’ll see on the charts, and the message is positive and empowering, rather than degrading. (The song came out in 2005, and there’s already a watered down remake by J Status and Rihanna).

Alison is now almost 40, and she lives on a horse farm with her family in Barbados. I definitely think she’s got a lot more steam left in her engine, and many more hits to come. Alison says she’s willing to do anything to take calypso worldwide, she dreams of putting together a Vegas style theatrical soca show. I know she’s got the talent and the determination to do it. I’m just waiting for like, Kanye or Timbaland to holla at Machel Montano for a track, or for Gwen Stefani (or, hello Rihanna) to duet with Alison on her next album or something. It might take a little American A list star power to get the ball moving, but calypso definitely has a shot at international success. With a woman like Alison Hinds flying the flag, we can’t miss the mainstream.

Alison Hinds is a strong and sexy woman of color who is unafraid to blaze trails and be herself. No wonder she’s Afrobella of the Month! Congratulations, Alison! Keep on doing you and making us island women proud.

If you love what you’re hearing, treat yourself to her album, Soca Queen.

Related posts:

1. Afrobella of the Week – Alison Stewart, Anchorbella
2. Afrobella of the Month – Amanda Diva
3. The Glorious Return of Afrobella of the Month — Janelle Monae

Najwa Moses is striking. Najwa Moses is bold. Najwa Moses lives her life full speed ahead. She’s working hard towards making herself a brand, and from the interview we had a week or so ago, I’m convinced she knows what she’s doing.

She’s a podcaster, a videopodcaster, a writer, a fashionista, a marketing maven, a self promoter, a fashion do, and an unabashed fashion don’t all at the same time. And in this era of changing media, she’s one of my new heroines. I caught up with her in a fun phone interview recently, and we chatted about anything and everything.

One of Najwa’s first roles in fashion was doing business development for a not-for-profit organization through the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce. “My job was to help promote the work of local designers, helping them get to trade shows, helping them do numbers, PR, whatever whatever. One of the first things I created was called a shopping party. All these shopping parties — Shecky’s, Gen Art, all of them were quote-unquote “inspired” by the concept I came up with,” she declared proudly.

“Wow,” I interjected.

“I know, right! I don’t get credit for that? When you’re 20 years old or 21 years old and you don’t have a big company with lots of money behind you… when you put something out that’s a novelty idea, you’re really leaving it out there for other people to pick up. And that’s unfortunate. But I’ve learned, and you know what, they can’t take creativity away.”

That pick yourself up, dust yourself off attitude has taken her from strength to strength. Najwa’s shopping party was called The Closet, and it involved a lot of indie designers who weren’t aware of their potential. She started the event in 2001, and she learned as she went along. “I understand how things work a little bit better now.”

The last time they held the event was in 2005. At the time, she was also writing for NPR, covering New York Fashion Week, and immersing herself in the culture of style. Still, she found herself yearning to do her own thing. “That’s when I learned about podcasting. It was like — you want your own radio show? Come learn about podcasting. I was like, hell yeah! Jumped into it, did a bunch of great audio interviews, got a brand new website and I was like, oh no, this website must have video. I lost my mind, forgetting how expensive video is,” she laughs. Her website is Styleaholics, and it’s as fabulous as you would expect.

Najwa’s got a lot of personality, and she talks at the speed of traffic in New York City. For example, she had me cracking up when I listened to this Showbuzz podcast, where she recounts visiting Kutztown, Pennsylvania. Pioneering forms of new media doesn’t come cheap, but Najwa’s trying to be savvy about it. Now she has her own YouTube channel, where she features her videopodcast “The In List.” She’s interviewed fashion icons and fabulous celebrities including Diane Von Furstenberg, Kelis, and Marc Ecko (I don’t know what it is, but I find him completely fascinating). She’s starting to make some commercial inroads, too — check her out pimping the Toyota Camry at one of her fashion events. It’s all part of her brand-building master plan.

“I cross many worlds. I don’t just stick with the black fashionista world, or the fashionista world. I am also into the music scene, the food scene, very international high end stuff, or very underground scenes. I think I represent many different types of people and subcultures.” No kidding. In addition to the podcasts, videos, and writing for sites like AOL’s Styleist and Bluefly, Najwa is also the ambassador for Ugly Talent NY, a character model agency started in 1969 that exclusively traffics in “interesting” faces. Multicultural? Old? Tatted up? Obese? Or generally unusual? Ugly NY is looking for you. “The models range from a 300lb Sumo wrestler to a Styleaholic like myself-and I’ve personally have never been happier to be UGLY,” says Najwa.

Which brings me to another defining trait of Najwa’s. Her style. I had to ask her what’s up with that defining look. “My style is just really eclectic. I’m always a little left of fashion, and at the same time, I have to pay attention to that and understand that not everyone will look at me and say oh my God, that’s brilliant. For me, it’s about creating a statement and making sure everyone is noticing me. Because you want to make sure when you walk into an event, all eyes are on you. And in New York City, there’s a lot of people for eyes to be on.”

Believe it or not, being a plus size chick who dresses flamboyantly is working for her. “I’m not a size two. People well say oh my God, is that a detraction? But you know what, it actually helps me. Because it’s like, who is that curvy girl with those big ass boobs and that big ass hair coming in here? You can’t help but notice me. And I’m confident. And I believe in the designers I’m wearing, so it is what it is. Even this year, I’m like, how can I go crazier?”

Her in-your-face style gets her noticed, and the attention can sometimes be negative. Wire Image photos of her get picked up in the blogosphere, and Najwa’s been clowned on some of my favorite sites, like Crunk & Disorderly, A Hot Mess, and Bossip. At first the reader reaction bothered her. “I love the bloggers, because they keep it real. I’ve been SLAMMED by lots of the black blogs. But you know, press is press is press. The first time it happened, I was like oh my God, and I went crying to my mother. The second time, I was like… ok, well, I got some traffic to my site. The third time… my friend sent me an e mail and said to me, you’re a superstar. I’m being featured on the same websites as Will Smith, Britney, Angelina Jolie… if I’m being talked about on the same site as these A listers, I’m doing something right. I got about 300 comments on one of those sites. That means something,” she declares. It means Najwa’s turning heads and making a statement. I applaud that difference. We can’t all be rocking the same cookie cutter hair, clothes, and makeup, right? Someone’s got to march to their own beat.

“I feel like in the black community, if you’re even a little left of center, it is a problem. I’m a hip hop person. If you look back at those old videos, like Afrika Bambaataa, they were wearing SPACE SUITS! People would be questioning their sexuality, today. But at the end of the day, the experience of having people talk junk about me was phenomenal. I live in a world where everybody loves Najwa, and everything I do is cool. Putting myself on front street like that and hearing people talk about my style was a trip.”

This year, Najwa is planning to up the ante and change her hair drastically. I tried to get to the root of the matter, so to speak. But that was the one topic she was careful about divulging more on. “One day, I’m gonna do a YouTube video and I’m gonna show people where I go get my hair done. I’m sure it’ll be the biggest video I’ve ever made. But until then, no one’s gonna know the secret!” Come on, Najwa! Give me more than that. “OK, my own hair is natural, it’s been natural for 13 years. This is the biggest, longest hair I’ve ever worn, and I’ve worn it like this for the longest time — two years. I call this my rasta fro. It’s kinda like Rudy Huxtable when she was little, she wore those big ponytails and brushed it out into a big bush? But it kind of comes down into a dreadlock kind of thing. I’m big into experimenting with color, right now my hair is jet black with hot pink in it. And the men are just loving it! I call it the Diana Ross Dark n’ Lovely era,” she explains.

Someday, Najwa wants to go mainstream. She realizes her fashion choices might work against her in that realm. She rails against what she calls “the vanilla pink movement.” “I’m tired of it. It’s basically these websites that are hot pink and white, with these cookie cutter girls — mostly white brunettes with bobs, and if they’re black, they’ve got bobs too. They all wear the pencil skirt and they talk like this, la-la-la-la…” there’s more in the game than just vanilla pink.”

Being social and knowing how to work it is taking Najwa Moses to the next level. Being fearless helps. “I will just go out there and DO something. Sometimes I need to think about the end results a little bit more. But if I’m immediately inspired, I’ll just go out and do it. That’s just the entrepreneur in me.” The entrepreneur in her has just launched a new earring line, Salte, which is as big and fabulous and crazy as the designer herself. In her own words, “made from 100% leather and cut, sewn and painted by me, each piece is slightly unique. My debut collection is called “The Hollywood Set”; themed after the crazy roles of those in the industry.” I can’t lie — some of those earrings are too big for me. But some of them are just FLY. For example, The Blogger, patent leather earrings dedicated “to the Blogsphere for putting traditional media on its ass.” Hell yeah, Naj!

She’s asked me to offer a special giveaway to readers who aren’t afraid to be fabulous. So this is an Afrobella first — my Afrobella of the Month is offering an Afrobella giveaway! Would you like to rock a pair of blogger earrings in black, bronze, or ice? Leave me a comment saying which color you’d like, and why you’d be proud to rock Salte. Najwa’s totally going to read these, so let her know what you think about her earrings, her style, and the big moves she’s trying to make.

I chose Najwa as my first Afrobella of the Month for 2008 because I admire her moxie. She kind of embodies that spirit of change I mentioned for 2008 — a sprinkle of that chutzpah could do me good.

Congratulations, Najwa Moses! You’re Afrobella of the Month!

** edited at minutes to midnight — wanna see more Najwa? She’s gonna be on the Rachel Ray show on Friday 18. That’s today!!

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1. The Glorious Return of Afrobella of the Month — Janelle Monae
2. Afrobella of the Month: Queen Ifrica
3. The Woman Behind the Icon

Brash, brilliant, brave, beautiful – Nikki Giovanni is all that and then some. You could run through a whole dictionary of adjectives on this proud afrobella of note. She was once known as “the princess of black poetry,” but now, she’s undoubtedly the queen.

Nikki Giovanni helped to pave the way for today’s generation of young black poets, she stood strong, fought, and won her battle with breast cancer, and when her peers, students, and coworkers needed a unified voice in the face of unspeakable grief, she rose admirably to the occasion. Nikki Giovanni is a long overdue Afrobella of the Month.

One of the things I admire most about Yolande Cornelia “Nikki” Giovanni is her refusal to play by the rules. She seems to revel in refreshing contradiction. She was born in 1943, in this fantastic and fun NPR interview, she laughingly describes herself as “a little old lady.” But despite any preconcieved generation gaps, she has a storied admiration of the late, great Tupac Shakur and to commemorate the spirit of the slain, controversial rapper, she proudly wears a “Thug Life” tattoo on her arm — which, in case you didn’t already know, was intended by Tupac to be an acronym. In that same NPR interview, she reveals her reason for loving ‘Pac the way she did. First she declares that it’s important to recognize genius. Then she adds, “I would always rather be with the thugs than the people talking about them.” Snaps to Bill Cosby. All kidding aside, as someone who definitely grew up as part of the hip hop generation (and as a big fan of Tupac’s), I appreciate her perspective. It makes me want to perk up my ears and listen to what else she has to say.

I think Giovanni’s admiration for Tupac can be partially attributed to her love for plain talk. She has never been a highfalutin poet-with-a-capital-P, even from youth she appreciated the magic of real, unpretentious storytelling. According to this Ohioana Authors article, family influence had everything to do with that –

“I come from a long line of storytellers,” she once explained in an interview, describing how her family influenced her poetry through oral traditions. “My grandfather was a Latin scholar and he loved the myths, and my mother is a big romanticist, so we heard a lot of stories growing up.” This early exposure to the power of spoken language would influence Giovanni’s career as a poet, particularly her tendency to sprinkle her verses with colloquialisms, including curse words. “I appreciated the quality and the rhythm of the telling of the stories,” she once commented, “and I know when I started to write that I wanted to retain that… I didn’t want to become the kind of writer that was stilted or that used language in ways that could not be spoken. I use a very natural rhythm; I want my writing to sound like I talk.”

I love that about her. She is a spoken word artist, but when Nikki Giovanni reads a poem, she doesn’t use that “I am a POET reading a POEM” voice. Y’all know what I’m talking about. She deliberately doesn’t memorize her work, so her readings have that unvarnished feeling. In this early interview, she accounts baldly for her meteoric rise to fame, traces her history as a self-published author, and ends on a very candid note — “Artists as a rule tend to think that somebody ought to do something for them. I don’t believe that. I think that as a rule it is your work, it is your responsibility to get it out.” The accessibility of her voice has taken her places that many traditional poets have not gone.

Nikki Giovanni’s poetry is universally acclaimed, but she has always spoken to African American culture. The influence of the civil rights and black power movements resounds in her first book, Black Feeling, Black Talk. Her books for children and young adults — Rosa, Ego-Tripping and Other Poems for Young People, and Grandmothers : Poems, Reminiscences, and Short Stories About the Keepers of Our Traditions, all aim to celebrate the accomplishments of ordinary black people, the people who endured daily hardships to help us get to where we are today. She reveals that she feels pretty good about the progress we’ve made in this CNN interview about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Despite all of her accolades — more than 20 honorary degrees, a list of keys to the city, book awards, and various recognitions as long as your forearm, Nikki Giovanni manages to keep it real. At least, she tries to not believe her own hype. She shrugs away cancer survivor tributes in this New York Times article: ”I get so sick of these people who talk about how cancer made them better people,” she says, sitting in the dining room of her brick ranch house in Christiansburg, Va., near Roanoke. ”I don’t think I’m any nicer or kinder. If it takes a near-death experience for you to appreciate your life, you’re wasting somebody’s time.”

Despite her modesty, Giovanni is a survivor of note and her vibrancy in the face of the disease is awesome. She recounts the difficulty of losing her mother and sister in this NPR interview, where the interviewer can’t help but notice the brightness of her personality, despite the pain of her recent loss. That appears to be her way. She keeps things simple, doesn’t want to be canonized, or depicted as more-than. In this interview with Black Press USA, she speaks to that — “I’ve had people who’ve been very complimentary, yes,” Giovanni responded in a telephone interview. “And I’m glad, but, I’m not a priest; I’m an acolyte. I’m not trying to do anything to anybody but bring a point of view.

Giovanni continues to publish her point of view at a prolific rate, and she’s the rare kind of writer who appears to actually love teaching as well. She is practically an institution at Virginia Tech — she’s been teaching there since 1987. She taught shooter Seung-Hui Cho, and remembered him as “downright mean.” She admits she felt shaky about her words at the Virginia Tech Convocation, but she created a rallying cry for the Hokie Nation — in the wake of that terrible tragedy, the words “we are Virginia Tech” were heard around the world, giving reassurance to those who were shaken to the core. And isn’t that what a great poet should do? Rise to even the bitterest of occasions and give hope to those who might feel hopeless? We all can only hope for that kind of grace under pressure.
Nikki Giovanni proved the power of poetry that day, as she’s been doing every day for a long time. Like I said, she’s all that and then some. She’s complicated, bold, gritty, and honest. In one of her most famous poems, “Ego Tripping” she declares, “I am so hip even my errors are correct.” True that! Maximum respect to Nikki Giovanni, Afrobella of the Month!

Looking for a perfect holiday gift for that intellectual bella in your family? They’ll definitely be happy to unwrap a copy of Giovanni’s latest collection, Acolytes: Poems.

Related posts:

1. Speaking About the Unspeakable
2. The Glorious Return of Afrobella of the Month — Janelle Monae
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NPR junkies are a dedicated lot. I’ve known some who lull their latchkey pets with A Prairie Home Companion on busy weekends. I’ve known others who are utterly obsessed with Ira Glass. NPR fanatics drive to work with Diane Rehm and come home with News and Notes, hosted by the razor-sharp Farai Chideya. If you’re not a regular NPR listener, you may not be aware of what a brilliant journalist or great interviewer Farai Chideya is. She’s an accomplished author, a compelling personality, and a strong-minded afrobella who does her part to keep America informed about politics, culture, and the issues that affect the black community. She’s become one of the key figures in new media, and is an inspiration to any young, smart journalist who is trying to find a place in the changing landscape of American media.

Farai Chideya is young still — she’s in her mid-thirties, and her drive is evident in the amazing range of her achievements. Let’s break it down by types of media, shall we?

In terms of print, Farai started out as a researcher at Newsweek magazine. She was a writer for MTV News from 1994 to 1996. She’s already published three books — 1995’s Don’t Believe the Hype is already in its eighth printing. 2001’s The Color of Our Future: Race in the 21st Century was named one of the best books for young adults by the New York Public Library. In 2004, she released the timely Trust: Reaching the 100 Million Missing Voters. In 1997, Newsweek named her to its “Century Club” of 100 people to watch.

In 1996, Chideya founded PopandPolitics.com, a brilliant site that combines music, film, international news, and political perspectives. The site has won beau coup awards and accolades, including a MOBE IT Innovator award. Chideya has been named one of Alternet’s New Media Heroes, and both her and the site were ranked in PoliticsOnline.com’s list of 25 Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics.

On television, she’s been a correspondent for ABC News, and anchored Pure Oxygen on the Oxygen channel. During the 1996 Presidential election campaign, she provided commentary on CNN. She’s also appeared on ABC News, Fox, and MSNBC. Before she found a home at NPR, she hosted a daily news and cultural call-in show on San Francisco’s KALW 91.7 FM.

And oh yeah, then there’s this from her official bio: “In 2001-2002, she was a Knight Fellow at Stanford University. She has published articles in newspapers and magazines including The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times Magazine, Time, Spin, Vibe, O, The California Journal, Mademoiselle, and Essence. Awards for her writing and broadcast work include a 2004 “Young Lion” award from the Black Entertainment & Telecommunications Association (BETA), a GLAAD Award for the Spin article “Hip Hop’s Black Eye,” and a National Education Reporting Award for work at Newsweek. She currently serves on the Journalism Advisory Committee of the Knight Foundation, which disburses over $20 million in journalism-related grants each year.”

Whew. Got all that?

In a remarkably short span of time, Farai Chideya has managed to rack up awards, publish books, start websites, and establish a stellar reputation within her myriad fields of expertise. On her daily program News and Notes, she delivers the kind of information that is meaningful to a listener like me — and quite possibly a reader like you. Just in the last month, Farai has interviewed soul singer Martin Luther, then tackled the Jena 6 case in a really refreshing way by reaching out to the community for their feedback. Most recently she hosted a sizzling discussion about old school vs. new school civil rights activism, addressed the extremely disappointing Marion Jones scandal, and hosted a great round table discussion on black journalists covering the world of black celebrity.

In this fascinating interview with PIP magazine, she explains why so many young Americans aren’t watching the news: “Younger Americans — and I speak here mainly of people in their 20s and 30s — are rarely seen in speaking roles on network news. The target audience is middle aged, middle-class, and white. The networks use people meters to test what stories those audiences like, and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy that that’s the kind of audience they get. Meanwhile, younger audiences have drifted away, and many people don’t watch the news at all. To change that, news editors will have to really respect the voices of their whole potential audience — younger and older, of all ethnicities.”

And she does just that on News and Notes every day. Chideya’s areas of interest intersect neatly with mine — hip hop’s surface level activism and its depiction of black women has been an issue she’s addressed boldly and bravely. She spoke out about opportunistic hip hop political posturing in her book, Trust, and her interview with Russell Simmons left the yoga master with his feathers ruffled after her questions about his role within the kingdom of pimps and hoes. (She addresses the interview further here). That notably uncomfortable interview set the stage for Chideya to further explore this issue with the rappers who help to perpetuate negative and limited female images. Recently she appeared as a panelist on BET’s Hip Hop vs. America, which gave her an opportunity to address materialism and ask Nelly about the portrayal of women in his infamous “Tip Drill” video. After watching the BET debate, I’m honestly not sure the rappers understood where the criticism was coming from, but the fact that there was a healthy discourse on the source of the issue is a good start towards positive change, I think. I hope.

I’d like to see more of that kind of enriching interdisciplinary discussion on TV. For now, I’m more than happy to get my fix on News and Notes. I respect Farai Chideya because she always speaks her piece intelligently, uses her power wisely, and isn’t afraid to ask the questions or make the statements that are sometimes unpopular. She’s a go-getter who is paving a path that others might follow. And besides all of that, she’s a beautiful and strong black woman who is setting an example that old media needs to learn from. She gives this afrobella a lot to aspire to. Hats off to you, Farai Chideya! You’re my very first Afrobella of the Month! *

Want to keep up with the news according to Farai? Check out the News and Views blog, which adds context to the on-air reporting that she and her co-workers do so well. Do you prefer to crank your tunes on the way home from work, rather than plug into talk radio? You can listen to all of NPR’s broadcasts online whenever you want.

* I had to do it, y’all. The weekly pace was killing me!

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1. Afrobella, Interviewed
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On to the newness — You’re starving for some new music. But the existing landscape of the musical scene is so stale, you continually find yourself turning back to the classic soul tracks of the sixties and seventies. Look no further — I have the perfect new album for you that brings the sounds of the present and the past together in one fantastic  blend.

Former Afrobella of the Week, Sharon Jones has just dropped her latest album, 100 Days, 100 Nights. It’s beyond tight. I’m loving it!
It’s the kind of groovy, mellow album that you can listen to all the way through without skipping a track. Don’t believe me? The album is being screened in its entirety on AOL Spinner so you can listen for yourself.

If you enjoy Amy Winehouse but you’re sick of watching her eclipse her talent with shocking celebrity stunts, you’ll dig Miss Sharon even more. She’s worked hard to get where she is today, and she truly appreciates her fans. The Dap-Tones agree, as you’ll discover in this great MTV interview. Click here to check out a little video of Sharon and the Dap-Kings recording in the Dap-Studio. It kicks off with her combing out her fro, and features a little acapella singing towards the end. To hear Sharon’s version of Bob Marley’s It Hurts to Be Alone, click here for the Entertainment Weekly exclusive.

The title track is my favorite! 100 Days, 100 Nights makes great use of Sharon’s sweet, strong voice, and that horn section that I love so much. You need it in your life. Click here to enjoy it fully before you go on and buy the woman’s album. And if you love authentic soul, you should support her! It just dropped yesterday, so clicky click to get it on Amazon, and while you’re at it, show Sharon some love by adding her to your MySpace friends.

The group will be touring the US, Canada, and Europe, so check out Brooklyn Vegan for tour dates. It breaks my heart that they’re not coming to Miami. Oh well — I still have her killer new album to comfort me. And in case you’re wondering what kind of live performance this petite dynamo puts on, check out this video of her performing on popular French television show Canal Plus.

Sharon rocks!

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My appetite for new music is as insatiable as my appetite for makeup and hair products. Which is to say, I’m always on the lookout for the next big thing. I especially love female singers with spunk and sass and indisputable talent. Personality counts for a lot, and I admire a musician with style. But the kind of singers that steal my heart and become my instant new faves are more than just fresh and fly; they also radiate soul to the max. So in the vein of previous Afrobellas of the Week Chrisette Michele, Conya Doss, Janelle Monae, and the criminally slept-on Alice Smith, I present to you the enchanting pixie that is Ayo. She’s glowingly talented, and as refreshing as a glass of mint lemonade on a sweltering summer day. And she’s been making it big in Europe for a while now!

Ayo Olasunmibo Ogunmakin was born in Cologne, Germany, but she’s of Nigerian parentage — her father moved from Nigeria to Germany in the Seventies. Her mother is a gypsy. Her name means “joy” in Yoruba, and her debut album — the fittingly titled Joyful — went platinum in France in 2006. Ayo’s voice is sweetly nasal, kind of like a young Randy Crawford’s (OMG, love this song) , and her music can best be described in terms of her influences — she mentions Pink Floyd, Fela Kuti, Donnie Hathaway, Jimmy Cliff, and Bob Marley on her official MySpace page. I can definitely hear a bit of each of those artists in her music. She rides reggae-lite rhythms, upholds the lilting danceability of Fela Kuti, and often takes the Pink Floyd less-is-more spacey approach to her lyrics.

The first single from the album, Life is Real, is a breezy inspirational ditty that for some reason reminds me a bit of a modern-day Des’ree’s You Gotta Be. (it’s also an uptempo feel-good song that’s good for road tripping). The video’s filmed in Lagos, and features Ayo strumming her guitar all over the Nigerian countryside. These Days is a sad ballad that reminds me of Corinne Bailey Rae, and I love the soft, melancholy accordian break in How Many Times.

Help is Coming captures that island lilt, and her biggest hit, Down On My Knees, is built around a sweet and sad repeated refrain: “Down on my knees, I’m begging you. Please, please don’t leave me.” The theme of desperate abandoned love combined with the reggae bounce of the rhythm reminds me of Dawn Penn’s “No, No, No (You Don’t Love Me)”. If only “Down on My Knees” had a heavier bassline. (If you’re really feeling the track, enjoy this ten minute long live version).

Ayo’s adorable in every music video she’s released, but her personality just glows in her live performances. Her beautiful smile is infectious as she sings With A Little Help From My Friends in this live duet with Jude. And I love, love, love her live version of And It’s Supposed to Be Love, filmed in Athens over the summer. She’s one of those singers who sounds just as great live as she does in the studio — as evidenced by this live version of her song Only You. For those of you who would like to hear her sing a song you love, here’s her performance of Natural Woman, which is followed by an interview conducted mostly in French.

The video I’m about to share isn’t the best in terms of visual quality — you can see she’s gorgeous and wearing a beautiful dress, but there are no close-ups of Ayo and her pretty crown of natural curls in the video. I wanted to share it because of the message of the song. It’s dedicated to her father, who raised her and her siblings by himself when her mother became addicted to drugs. The song is just real and stark and stunning, in my opinion.

The lyrics speak from her soul: “You were always there for me. You are my best friend daddy, I know I was unfair sometimes. Now, with this song I apologize. Where would I be today without you being there for me all my life? What would I do today without you taking care of me all the time?” I am sorry that the video clip ends abruptly, but the song touched me enough to post it regardless.

In 2005, Ayo had a baby boy, and she named him Nile. His daddy is the amazingly talented and super-fine Afro-German reggae artist Patrice. She’s currently raising her baby, and touring around Europe.

I hope that she starts to get some more mainstream attention Stateside, I love a talented singer/songwriter who also plays guitar, and I know I’m not the only one! I’m feeling Ayo’s style, and I hope you do too. Congrats, Ayo! You’re Afrobella of the Week!

Big thanks and respect to regular reader and commenter NYC/Caribbean Ragazza for the intro to Ayo!

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