Each of the designers featured in the MsAfropolitan boutique has been chosen because they offer a unique product that draws inspiration from the African continent and that supports ethical causes and/or production methods.

The MsAfropolitan shopping experience includes not only distinct products but also a history and journey of the African Diaspora woman through the interview series on the MsAfropolitan blog where each woman whose products are sold in the boutique shares her story.

The brands available in the MsAfropolitan boutique make  perfect presents to people who value the uniqueness and beauty of a product, perhaps even the buyer them-self.

Items sold in the MsAfropolitan Boutique all have a 10% discount on the retail price.

For more information on the MsAfropolitan boutique please visit www.msafropolitan.bigcartel.com or the MsAfropolitan blog

Would you wander around the red light district of Antwerp in a miniskirt and boots in the name of research? I thought not. I doubt I’d be brave enough to but that’s exactly what Chika Unigwe the Nigeria-born author of On Black Sisters’ Street did. We caught up with her to quiz her on her book and writing.

Catch a Vibe: Is writing something you always wanted to do? How did you get started?
Chika Unigwe: It is something I always wanted to do. I never imagined doing or being anything else. I wrote from a very young age, mostly poetry and short stories. When I moved to Belgium, I was a bit overwhelmed with everything and found I couldn’t write poetry anymore as poetry for me is very intimate, and couldn’t do it with the way I felt at the time. That’s when I moved onto fiction writing.

What challenges did you face?
Very practical ones, the first was I had no network of writing friends to start off and secondly realised to get noticed here (Belgium) I would have to start out writing in a language other than English. The first story that got me noticed was written in Dutch for a competition and my first novel The Phoenix was written in Dutch.

What inspired you to tackle the subject of prostitution as you have in On Black Sisters’ Street?
Coming from a very conservative Catholic home/background, moving to Belgium was a cultural shock for me as sex here is very visible. When you take the train you can actually see the women in their display cases. I soon realised many of the young women engaged in prostitution were actually Nigerian and that made me wonder what would make them travel so far to come and work in the sex industry here. I started off writing short stories about Nigerian prostitutes in Antwerp, but the more I wrote the more questions I had. I really wanted to know what their true stories were. I then started on Black Sisters’ Street.

How did you go about conducting research for the book?
One of the earliest criticisms I got from my writer friends on the book was that the girls were not very authentic. One of my friends challenged me to go down and speak to the girls myself as she felt the story would benefit from that. I did, donning on a mini skirt and boots. Initially they didn’t believe I was a writer because in their reality if you are black, a Nigerian and a woman you couldn’t be anything other than be a prostitute. One of the women I approached and told I was writing a story and the characters were prostitutes laughed in my face. She didn’t believe me and proceeded to ask how long I had been in the country.  I managed to get through in the end.

What reactions have you had from the book?
There is a certain level of gratitude from sex workers. A few weeks ago I was a keynote speaker at a conference for human trafficking in Holland where people thanked me for highlighting some of the issues.  From a certain group of people it’s gratitude for giving the women a voice and from others like some Belgians it’s wow! Thanks for opening our eyes to what goes on right under our noses. They had no idea!

Has writing the book changed your perception of those caught up in that world?
It has changed me in several ways. Before I did my research I saw the world in black and white but life is a lot more complicated than that.  I realized that circumstances make people take what we (and perhaps they) might consider wrong decisions. I learnt that for some shame is a huge luxury and not something you think about when everything is going your way. One of the girls asked: “if your father was dying and you couldn’t afford the medication and the only way was to sell your body would you do it?. Even though it’s a very conscious decision that they made I don’t think it’s a decision they made lightly and not from a whole list of choices they had. It made me a lot more grateful for the opportunities I have had.

Are you planning on pursuing this subject line?
No that’s completely done now I have moved onto other things now.

Who are your literary influences/who do you enjoy reading?
I constantly have different people influencing me but if I think right back to when I really wanted to be a writer it was because of Flora Nwapa. Her daughter and I were classmates in primary school and she used to come to class with all these wonderful books which she had written  herself which I thought was so cool. I remember during career days at school, being a writer was never one given to us as one of the options. Flora Nwapa was my earliest influence and my idol. As a teenager I also discovered Buchi Emecheta. I am currently reading A Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk  and Too much Happiness by Alice Munro. A book I always reread is Beyond the Devil’s Teeth by Tahir Shah. It is a travelogue and is amazing. I have just ordered all the rest of his books.

What advice have you got for budding writers?
Not to take criticism of their work personally, surround yourself with people who give honest and constructive criticism.

What next for you?
I have completed a novel (The Sin Eater) set in Nigeria which will be published in 2012 by Jonathan Cape. I am currently working on a historical novel as well as a collection of short stories.

Ayesha Antoine as Juliet (c) Stephen Cummiskey

Having first been produced at the National Theatre ten years ago, Tiata Fahodzi’s all female revival of blue/orange remains strikingly relevant. The characters, settings and themes of the play haven’t aged with time and the dramatic re-casting has simply lead to a fresh take on a literary classic.

Penhall’s play is a skillfully informed drama which places cultural and ethnic background at the heart of the mental health debate. On one hand is the assumption that all patients are treated and diagnosed equally while on the other is the opinion that diagnosis should be tailored to factor in racial circumstances as the differences between the races can often lead to misdiagnosis. Penhall highlights this debate brilliantly using the characters of Hilary and Emily who despite their professional convictions you never really trust. Is Hilary only using Juliet as a pawn in her path to professorship? And does Emily actually care about a patient she soon takes to verbally abusing?

Director Femi Elufowoju, Jr has extracted fantastic performances from his stellar cast of three. Ayesha Antoine does an excellent job as Juliet, walking the line between schizophrenia and personality disorder so well you are never certain who she really is. Helen Schlesinger really convinces as the initially exuberant but later cunning and calculating Dr Hilary who brings about her ulterior motives with an added measure of class and elegance and Esther Hall (the lady from the BT adverts) brings the seemly ethical Esther to life with a real tangible naivety; to the point you’re not sure if she can really be trusted.

Esther Hall, Helen Schlesinger and Ayesha Antoine (c) Stephen Cummiskey

Having been played by a number of male actors over the years it’s a wonder blue/orange hasn’t previously been performed with an all female cast. The characters lend themselves well to either gender with the subject and plot actually being enhanced being acted by women. If this is result when women take over – it should definitely happen more often.

blue/orange
By Joe Penhall
Directed by Femi Elufowoju, Jr
Arcola Theatre: 27th October – 20th November 2010. Info & Tickets
Cast: Ayesha Antoine, Esther Hall and Helen Schlesinger

On 17 September 2010, Catch a Vibe attended Bunmi Koko’s Vauxhall Fashion Scout presentation as part of the off schedule London Fashion Week. This fine reverie of a show told the tale of an accomplished young woman with a seemingly super natural ability to conquer the attention of whatever room she would occupy. A mish-mash of patterns and prints with an accompanying cane so ideal, it could only be deemed power stick.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of her show, Bunmi Olaye took a few minutes backstage at Freemasons Hall to talk to Catch a Vibe about her Spring Summer 2011 ‘Matriach’ collection, the label’s continuing success and whether there was any truth to her dressing the First Lady.

Catch a Vibe: How does it feel to be part of London Fashion Scout?
Bunmi Koko: It’s amazing. I’m just happy to have a platform to actually show my work in London. Because you know, it’s quite challenging trying to get to this stage. You have to go through so many applications, so many hoops that I’m just happy to actually be here with this collection.

It is a really great collection. It seems to be about power women.
It’s all about female empowerment which is why it’s called Matriarchy. The collection is about that woman who is the head of a government or the head of a society. The inspiration was The Leppard Masquerade, [a Nigerian ceremony] that is very secret and where men only are called, women are not allowed to see it. It was a bit of a controversial issue because we couldn’t really use the real masquerade here on stage. We had to use something a little bit more playful and soft.

And so I’m flipping it on its head by making it more about females. And also the part of Nigeria where this masquerade comes from is called Calabar. It’s the south eastern Nigeria. And my partner Francis’ great-great grandmother is Mary Slessor, a Scottish missionary who went to Nigeria and stopped the killing of twins. She is on the ten pound Scottish note. She was also the first female judge appointed by Queen Victoria. The collection is in honor of her too. So this is the inspiration: Mary Slessor. Scotland, Nigeria, Great Britain…There’s a lot of history in this collection.

I think one thing we really want to know in terms of our readers was why do you think there are so few black designers in the mainstream or showing at LFW?
When I was finishing my degree, that was the topic I wrote on, the lack of representation of black designers, which I want to write as a book at some point.

Me coming from Nigeria, I feel the problem that we have is the fact that there are not enough fashion institutions where you can go and study; where you can learn how to pattern cut, how to use fashion and fabric and design. There is also the lack of fabric resources, as well.

When I went back to study fashion, it seemed like such a long thing to do: a fashion course for 4 years. And some of my friends were like “I want to be a designer” but they don’t want to study. But you can’t just cut this; you need to go to school and do it properly. These are some of the things I feel affect some black designers. Funding, money also is an issue, and then not knowing how to put collections together.

I think these are fundamental things, understanding how the industry works. You need to generate press for yourself; if you don’t get press, no one is going to buy your stuff. And if your collection is not well made or researched and you don’t present yourself properly, it’s going to take a little while before someone sits down to look at what you have to present. I think that people need to go back and rethink “what’s wrong with my strategy here”. And when I look at some of my other friends who are trying to do the same thing, they didn’t do what I do. I think you need to follow some procedures.

Where does this knowledge of the fashion industry comes from?
A lot of it came from my work experiences. I worked at Alexander Mc Queen, I also worked for other designers.  But I think success comes from constant hard work. We did cold-calling and did the legwork as well.
I sent my work to everybody. I don’t care. What are they going to say? Maybe no, maybe yes. But that’s what you have to do. Write to everyone. We just thought: let’s do a good look book, with great photography. The garments are all well -made – that’s the first thing. Do a good look book and send it to everyone and see what happens.

Is that how you got Michelle Obama?
Well we sent a look book to her and we were in South Africa to see Nelson Mandela because we had won an award and they just loved what we did. We showed them the look book and thought it was amazing. They said Michelle Obama would look good in our designs and that we should contact her. So that’s what we did. Now we just have to wait and see.

What do you expect in terms of next year? Fashion week on schedule?
I hope so. That’s what we’re working towards. You know, funding!  We’ll get there.

Bunmi Koko is shortlisted as Creative Business of the Year at the Precious Awards 2010. The winner will be announced on Monday 8 Novembe.

Takers
Gritty heist movie with Idris Elba leading a group of high-class bank robbers, including Chris Brown. Their life of luxury may be coming to an end, however, as cop Matt Dillon is on their tail. Zoe Saldana and Marianne Jean-Baptiste also star.
Worth seeing? It’s nice to see Elba using his own accent for a change, but this looks too slick to be fun. Ocean’s Eleven without the wry smile isn’t a good prospect.
Release date: 1st October

The Other Guys
Samuel L. Jackson and the Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson are your archetypal bad-ass cops in this comedy, taking down the bad guys and saving the city on a daily basis. Desk-bound detectives Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg get their chance to be the heroes when they investigate a shady businessman (Steve Coogan).
Worth seeing? This seems like a silly and fun take on the buddy cop genre, with a great cast.
Release date: 17th September

Africa United
Three Rwandan children go on the adventure of a lifetime as they walk 3000 miles to fulfil their dream of taking part in the opening ceremony of the World Cup in South Africa, picking up a host of colourful characters on the way.
Worth seeing? The plot sounds cute, and it has the potential to be a very uplifting African story (not something you see very often in the cinema). It may have missed the zeitgeist by having a release date post-tournament, though – we’re all a bit vuvuzela-ed out.
Release date: 22nd October

Red
Bruce Willis is a former black ops agent forced out of a blissful retirement when an assassin tries to kill him. His old gang (Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren) must reform and fight to survive in this adaptation of the comic from British writer Warren Ellis.
Worth seeing? An action film with an excellent and unusual cast – this could be a hoot as long as the script lives up to the premise.
Release date: 22nd October

Due Date
In Todd Phillips’s follow up to the Hangover, Robert Downey Jr is the uptight father-to-be who must hitch a lift across America with annoying Zach Galifianakis to get to his child’s birth on time. Jamie Foxx plays one of the people they meet along the way.
Worth seeing? The Hangover was hilarious and Downey and Galifianakis are so hot right now. Who cares if the plot is lifted straight from Planes, Trains and Automobiles?
Release date: 5th November

Unstoppable
Denzel Washington, Chris Pine and Rosario Dawson must fight to stop a runaway train full of dangerous chemicals in this fact-based drama from Tony Scott. Will they save the town in time?
Worth seeing? A runaway train doesn’t sound that exciting, but it does have a nice 70s disaster film vibe. Hopefully the quality cast and director can lift this out of B-movie territory.
Release date: 12th November

Recently celebrating its 50th anniversary, and here presenting a world premiere, America’s ‘Cultural Ambassador to the World’, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre returns to the UK for an eight-city national tour this autumn.

The 31 member New York-based Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre company has changed the face of American dance over the last half century, combining popular music, gospel and jazz with a fusion of ballet and modern dance, encouraging audiences that number in the millions to their feet.

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre grew from a ground-breaking performance in 1958 led by Alvin Ailey, who sought to enrich the modern dance tradition and celebrate his African-American heritage. Born in Rogers, Texas in 1931, Ailey grew up during a time of racial segregation and violence against African-Americans. When he was just 5 years old, the rape of his mother by a group of white men left him fearful of whites. Early experiences in the Southern Baptist church and local jook-joints instilled in him a fierce sense of black pride that would later figure prominently in Ailey’s signature works.

His inspiration for dance came in 1942 when he and his mother migrated to Los Angeles. There, young Ailey regularly attended shows at Lincoln and the Orpheum Theatres. He became serious about dance in 1949 when a school friend introduced him to the Hollywood studio of Lester Horton, who would later prove to be Ailey’s major influence and mentor; including classical ballet, jazz, and Native American dance. Horton’s school was the first multi-racial dance school in the United States and gave Ailey both a technique and a foundation of combined dance styles with which to grow artistically.

Ailey formed his own company in 1958 and a dance school later in 1969, creating more than 79 dances for his company during his tenure. Proud that his company was multi-racial, he wanted to give opportunities to black dancers who were frequently excluded from performances by racist attitudes at the time; the company always employed artists based solely on artistic talent and integrity, regardless of their race.

This ethos remains today. Known for their passion, energy and talent, the Ailey dancers include Renee Robinson, selected by Alvin Ailey himself and the only woman to have danced with AAADT for an incredible 29 years. Clifton Brown, hailed as “a star among stars” by The Sunday Times, received a Bessie award in 2007 in recognition of his work with the company.

“I was exposed to the Ailey company through a video I checked out of the Phoenix Public Library”, says Brown. “When I saw Donna Wood dance I was amazed and inspired on so many levels. Her limbs seemed to stretch to eternity, yet at times she was also so subtle. But what struck me the most was her sincerity. You could look in her eyes and see a person having a human experience. I instantly related to the feeling and expression that went through her entire body while she was dancing.”

An instant hit with fans, Clifton’s introduction to dance was by chance, and his dexterity learnt over time. “My grandmother took me to a tumbling class at a dance studio when I was four years old. All the kids in my family were older than me and had started to go to school already. Since I was still too young for school, she wanted to give me something constructive to do as well as give me some physical coordination – believe it or not I was very clumsy! I loved it and soon started taking ballet, then tap, jazz and modern. I’ve been dancing ever since.”

Besides star dancers, the team is coordinated by an exceptional collective of passionate professionals, one of which is Judith Jamison. In 2009 Jamison celebrated 20 years as Artistic Director of the company and was also named as one of the world’s 100 most influential people by Time magazine. She became a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1965 and danced with the company for 15 years to great acclaim. Recognizing her extraordinary talent, Mr. Ailey created some of his most enduring roles for her, most notably the tour de force solo, Cry.

Appearing as a guest artist with ballet companies all over the world during the 80’s, Jamison eventually formed her own company in 1988. The Jamison Project; a PBS special depicting her creative process, Judith Jamison: The Dancemaker, aired nationally the same year. She was then appointed Artistic Director to the Ailey company in December 1989 at the request of Ailey himself and won the prestigious National Medal of Arts alongside the Ailey organisation in 2001, the first dance company to receive the honour. Alvin Ailey sadly passed away on 1 December 1989; Ms Jamison recently announced she retires as Artistic Director in 2011, to be succeeded by Robert Battle.

Performing the over 200 works by over 70 choreographers to millions of people in 71 countries on six continents, AAADT’s far reaching popularity provides its members with an opportunity to view the world while touching international audiences.

“Touring the world is one of the perks of dancing with the Ailey Company,” says Brown. “Basically, you get to be a tourist in many different countries and get paid. Although we don’t have much time to see every city we go to, I do my best to experience each city and enjoy its offerings when my schedule allows. My favourite theatre to perform in has been the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, Greece. You’re dancing outside under the stars, in the ruins of Greece, with beautiful views.

“I’m excited to be back in the UK though,” he adds, “I always have a great experience performing in the UK. One of the most enjoyable things is the audience reaction. The people are so welcoming and enthusiastic! You can sense their anticipation for every performance.”

Highlights from the two programmes for the forthcoming UK dates include the phenomenal Revelations (1960) by Alvin Ailey, the most viewed piece in modern dance history, with an estimated audience of 23 million to date. Programme Two also features the world premiere of Christopher Huggins’ new work Anointed.

“I don’t necessarily dance because I have a need to perform for people,” Brown says, “but simply because I love it.  I am so fortunate to dance with a company that touches and moves so many people worldwide. Dancing with the Ailey Company, which is such a positive force, has shown me how amazing it is to share the spirit that we share with our audiences. It’s so much greater than anything I could achieve as an individual.”

New anthology Hair Power – Skin Revolution, edited by freelance writer and published poet Nicole Moore, is a collection of personal essays and poems, from black British and mixed-race women, that explores how they view themselves through the prism of hair and skin.

The most engaging contributions come from a generation who grew up trying to fit in and hated being seen as different.  Their stories and poems are about personal journeys moving from self-loathing to self-acceptance, the search for individual and collective identity, the celebration of historical culture and achieving a sense of freedom from the constraints of having to conform to a society where euro-centric ideals are promoted.

Catch a Vibe spoke to Nicole Moore about the anthology.

CAV: Why did you choose the themes of hair and skin?
Nicole Moore: As a writer, my interests are personal and political and with Hair Power Skin Revolution, my own personal journey with my hair was the context I drew upon in the first instance, particularly from September 2006, when I decided to grow my hair into locs, thereby freeing me both literally and figuratively from the dictates of western European fashion. I had a strong desire to express my hair through Africentric cultural/ancestral connections.  I felt empowered by this decision as my hair was returning full circle to an authentic and liberating hair style making strong connections with the seventies when I wore an afro hairstyle, which then became one of the emblems of Black Power, as popularised by the iconic Angela Davis. It became a reflection of political and cultural progressiveness, as well as self-esteem, among black people.  Fast forward to the 21st century, the hairstyle that says “I’m black and proud”, has almost disappeared, replaced by fake hair weaves and hair extensions and more damaging still, hair ‘relaxed’ into submission through chemical products.

The theme of skin evolved naturally while researching the book’s concept.  At that time there were several documentaries on television covering the use of skin lightening products and discussing Black women’s beauty and how it is widely argued that the majority of African and African-Caribbean women today aspire to and adopt the standards of Caucasian beauty.  The beauty and fashion industries still maintain a closed shop when it comes to the selection and promotion of models.  In women’s magazines, on catwalks, even shop dummies, dark skin is rarely seen.  In this context, light skin and straight hair affirm superior human status.  In Black women’s magazines, adverts promoting skin lightening creams are silently reinforcing this skin hierarchy revolution and this motivated me to tackle this complex subject even further.

CAV: What do you think are the political, cultural and social implications of British black and mixed-race women revealing their experiences with hair and skin in an anthology such as this?
Nicole Moore: Next to skin colour, hair is truly the other most visible stereotype of being a black/mixed-race woman.  Physically, socially, economically and stylistically, Black women’s hair is indeed, not just hair.  It is a big deal.   Having said that, the medium of creative writing is a powerful and inspirational way of addressing what are big issues.  The implications are positive in that the writing empowers not just the contributors, but the readers, who can gain revealing insights into other women’s experiences that they can identify with.

Judging by the anthology’s contributors, many Black and Mixed-Race women are embracing their natural hair with pride, and challenging those Eurocentric fashion trends that seek to influence their lives.  They are discovering that black hair is beautiful left to its own devices.  It is optimistic and evident that a wider definition of beauty is possible – one that is multi-dimensional and defined by black women themselves.

CAV: Your book comes at a time when there seems to be more interest in black women and how they manage their hair, for example Chris Rock’s  documentary Good Hair lifts the lid on how African-American women manage their hair.  Why do think this is?
Nicole Moore: Yes, there does appear to be more interest in Black women and how they manage their hair, although why now, is anyone’s guess.  I guess it’s the right time for Black celebrities, like Chris Rock, to offer a humorous insight into the way hairstyles impact the lifestyles and love lives of the black community; Chris Rock’s approach has comedy written all over it and he is taking a smart route to tackling what is a personal issue and promoting the subject in a fun way, which is still a powerful way of addressing the wider public.

I was pleasantly entertained when I watched Chris Rock on the Graham Norton show on BBC1 on 8th June, discussing his documentary Good Hair, to a somewhat surprised Graham Norton, who after sight of a clip of the film, was amazed that African-American women spend thousands of dollars on ‘their’ hair.  There were quite a few Black women in the audience who backed Chris Rock’s statement so as to convince Graham Norton that this in fact was the reality of those Black women and many in the UK.

CAV: What do you hope this anthology will mean for 21st century black and mixed-race women?
Nicole Moore: Literature written by and for Black and Mixed-Race women is rare in the UK.  This new anthology is important to me because it will continue to promote Black and Mixed-Race women’s writing adding a new dimension to UK Black literature. I hope Hair Power Skin Revolution empowers writers and readers from African & Caribbean backgrounds in contemporary Britain. Whether we like it or not, our work is marginalised.  The mainstream publishing culture is inclined towards the status quo – resistant to change.  The problem is that poetry publishing in particular has too few Black role models so I hope Hair Power Skin Revolution goes some way to addressing that imbalance.

CAV: What is your next writing project?
Nicole Moore: I will continue to produce and distribute my quarterly on-line newsletter Shangwe News, host spoken word events and post entries on my blog I am also interested in mentoring writers and would consider setting up a Mentoring Programme.  In April I started my own collection of creative writing – poems and personal essays, with a working title of Seasons.

To order a copy of Hair Power, Skin revolution, order via email: nicole@shangwe.com
Price £9.99 plus £1.80 postage and packing.

In the heart of Brixton, partially concealed amidst the thriving commerce beneath the railway bridge, an oversized blue door announces the entrance to Brixton Village.

Also known as Granville Arcade, Brixton Village is a sprawling indoor market that until late last year was slowly but certainly limping towards obsolescence.

The property company managing the market hadn’t received a rental enquiry in 18 months and 20 shop units stood empty by the time they realized radical action was necessary. So they offered up the units for three months, rent-free and brought in the Space Makers Agency (SMA) to manage the project.

“You walk in and see this beautiful 1930s structure with skylights and arcades – a very unique place – to see it on its knees was terrible.” Julia Shalet, the SMA project manager for this scheme, sits in a café in the Village, her flyaway hair in bunches, dressed casually in jeans and a sleeveless top, talking animatedly about what it took to turn around the ailing market. “One end of the market was pretty vibrant. The traditional grocers, fish and meat traders, hair shops and restaurants were doing well. But the other half of the market was derelict.”

Brought on board in October of last year, Shalet went straight to work. “We held an open night and said these spaces are going to be rent free for three months, come down and have a look.” The event was held on a cold night in November yet 350 people turned up demonstrating not only a widespread interest in entrepreneurship but also the continued attraction of Brixton as a location.

100 applications were proffered for 20 spaces. In the subsequent selection process the needs of the local community figured at the head of all decisions. “The thing about empty spaces is you want to reclaim them for the community, make them a place where local people want to come.” Nothing was chosen that might pose a direct threat to existing traders. People who lived in or who had ties to Brixton were prioritised. If the proposal was a food venture Shalet wanted traders who would source their food locally thereby keeping profits in the local community.

By Christmas most of the empty units were filled: “It’s all about getting something out there as quickly as possible,” Shalet says with a smile, “it has that slight edge of chaos but there’s also magic in the speed.”

The organic regeneration of Brixton village has birthed an exciting tangle of businesses. Etta Burrell runs Etta’s Seafood Kitchen on 6th Avenue. A spry, middle-aged woman with a passion for food who has catered for film crews and commercial events in the past, she ventured into the Village one Wednesday with a vague idea about enquiring after rental prices: “I was thinking about cooking and putting something back into Brixton but I didn’t know where to start, what to do. I had no finance, nothing.” Serendipitously the day she chose happened to be the day of the SMA open night. Seeing the opportunity of a lifetime she signed up. “This is a fantastic dream,” she says sitting at one of the two tables positioned outside her eatery, “It’s always been my dream to sell good seafood cheaply.”

Over on 1st Avenue clothes designer DK Darlington runs a pop-up boutique. “We’re only here for a month,” he explains, “we’re testing our designs because this is the kind of place where trends get set.” A graduate of the London College of Fashion, 25 year-old Darlington describes his designs as ‘urban chic’: “classic tailor cut jackets that can go casual or smart, lots of leather, natural fibres…” The shop he shares with two other designers is small and located at the quieter end of the Village but Darlingon feels the opportunity to display his wares rent-free is invaluable. He does particularly well on Saturdays when tourists swarm through drawn by the live musicians, dance troupes and interactive workshops SMA organise.

‘Federation Coffee’ sits halfway up 2nd Avenue. It’s run by New Zealanders Nick Coates, 28 and George Wallace, 30 who read about the open night in the Metro newspaper. The friends, already resident in Brixton, were concerned by the dearth of local options for a good caffeine fix; seduced by the rent-free period they determined to set up a ‘real’ coffee shop. Six months later and they’ve signed a one year lease and are living up to their promise by selling coffee made with expertly roasted, properly farmed, fresh (no more than two weeks old) coffee beans. “No one used to come up this end,” Coates says standing behind a counter laden with sumptuous cakes, “there’s a lot more foot traffic now. The weekends are especially busy.”

There is so much to experience in the Brixton Village. From African print clothes to specialist flower designers, quirky second hand shops and pop-up art galleries, it boasts a fascinating meld of art and commerce. One end of the market still sees more visitors than the other and there are further improvements begging to be made, but that is part of the charm. With over 50% of the new businesses now self-sustaining the wind of change that swept over the Village last autumn has led to a creative revival and one of the best experiences Brixton has to offer.

Brixton Village
Open Mon – Sat 10am – 6pm
Thursday Late Nights 10am – 10pm

http://www.facebook.com/brixvill

All pictures (c) Jerry Barnett

Joe Turner's Come and Gone (c) Dan Burn-Forti

Catch a Vibe: How did it all start for you?  Was acting something you’d wanted to do from a young age?
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: I was about 15; I’d just finished my GCSE’s.  I thought ‘I wonder if I could [become an actor]’.  I hadn’t really suggested it to anyone.  It just didn’t seem allowed.  My family are really academic, my dad’s a doctor- they’re not really artistic so to speak.   So there was a slow exploration of [acting] and by the time I was 18, I was resolute.

CAV: You’ve worked extensively on both the small screen and on stage.  Do you have a preference for theatre, film or television?
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: I’m comfortable with exploring the different possibilities: theatre, TV, and films – whatever.  I tend to do straight stuff on stage and comedy on TV.  I tend to sink my teeth into bigger roles in theatre so I kind of prefer that.  I haven’t yet done enough stuff on film to know its challenges inside out.

CAV: Despite being relatively new to the scene your career has already shown incredible diversity; you don’t appear to be type cast in the way that certain African/Caribbean actors can be. How do you think you have managed to avoid this? Is it down to some risk taking on your part?
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: I don’t know…I think one of my professional strengths and possible weaknesses is that people never recognise me from job to job. That’s generally a huge compliment.  They don’t know Olunde (‘Death and the Kings Horseman’) was Jeremy Charles (‘Seize the Day’)… It’s very validating.

CAV: What kind of things do you look for in a role?
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: In short, I have to want that character to be alive.  Why does this character need to be alive?  It has to be worth bothering.   You can do a job and take their money or you can do a job and you know it’ll be good for your career… There are a number of reasons for doing a job and all of those reasons are valid.  I do jobs for money, I do jobs for my career but when I care about a job I have to want that character to speak.  The more I want that character to speak the more I’m willing to try and make him speak.

CAV: What was it about your role in ‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone’ that appealed most to you?
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: Herald Loomis in ‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone’ signifies a particular kind of pain specific to the African-American as a direct result of the prevailing attitudes of the time. It’s just the most amazing character within an amazing play.  He embodies the intention to persevere despite the most unjust adversity imaginable.  That’s a very interesting challenge for me, very exciting and very engaging.  It’s the prospect of bringing this character to life, bringing these experiences to life and the sort of parallels you can draw with the experience of the Diaspora in general.  It’s an honour; it really is a pure honour.  Each time I do an August Wilson play I learn more and more about how important [he is].  He’s a writer of a weight and calibre that’s easily on a par with Chekov and Shakespeare. He has the domestic and the epic of Chekov and he has the verbal might of the Bard.  The weight, the profundity, the resonance of this man’s writing are not to be underestimated but unfortunately I think they are.

CAV: You seem to be as much at home doing comedy (Star Stories, Sorry I’ve Got No Head, Phoneshop) as you are in more serious roles (Death and the King’s Horseman, Seize the Day etc).  Do you feel more at ease with one than the other?
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: Working on stage and working on TV is slightly different and then working on comedy and working on drama is different [too].   On stage, living it with the scrutiny of people who are there- you can’t rewind, you can’t change cuts, you can’t do a take again- you have a very tight, taxing focus.   On set… the thing about comedy is you have to be serious for it to work.   So to crack jokes and to be inane or insane and not have the camera pick up on your lies is an equally tight focus for different reasons.  I’m not a comic but I work with a lot of comedians and they are genuinely funny.  In a stressful situation like a film or TV set it’s wonderful to have that comedy available.  And then on stage it’s wonderful to be unearthing the deep, dark truths of these characters and situations.  You go to the cinema and you can see the detail of a helicopter landing and someone’s blood and guts but in theatre it’s there, it’s present. You can’t download the theatre, it’s live.

CAV: How did you get involved in the ‘See Africa Differently’ project? [Watch the video here]

Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: It was to counter the negative propaganda of what’s happening with Africa, where people’s money is going, the scale of its development and its scope for a positive future.   Richard Ayoade –who plays Moss in the IT Crowd-, asked me if I would come along and do the scene I did with Michael Sheen and that was literally how it happened.  We did loads of improv [but] what you see is pretty close to the script, oddly enough.
CAV: Do you believe that your generation of actor from a particular background still faces the same kind of limitations as previous generations?
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: At the moment there is loads going on on-stage… You’ve got ‘Sucker Punch’ that’s coming out at the Royal Court, we’re on here [Joe Turner’s Come and Gone at the Young Vic],’ Eurydice’ is on here, Welcome to Thebes’ is on at the National Theatre, ‘Ruined’ is on at the Almeida… There are lots of plays with prominent black themes.  Certainly on stage there’s a lot available for us to do.

But I think in terms of improvement, when people can look at us and think we’re as good or as bad as anybody else, it will be all right.  When I can play a robber again without a member of the public watching that and thinking “That’s what black folk do”, that’s when thing’s will be okay.  There is [still] a long way to go.  In terms of casting there’s yet some ground to be gained in just thinking of people as people and not having to consider ethnicity as a problem or an obstacle.  It’s a funny thing because they have to disregard and they have to consider it.  If you’re casting ‘Hamlet’ and your Hamlet is black, it would make sense depending on your production to have a black dad and a black mum and not just have Hamlet in the middle being this black actor on his own. But if you do I’d understand that as well, there’s scope for the two.

By the same token if the make-up weren’t offensive, I wouldn’t have any objection to a white actor playing Othello because I don’t think it was written as a black part; in terms of [being] rooted in the culture and ethnicity, I don’t think it was.

CAV: A lot of young British actors seem to be relocating to the States to find fame and fortune and a few have succeeded on hit American TV shows and films.  Is that something you would consider?
Kobna Holdbrook-Smith: It’s definitely in my sights but I have a lot of things I want to do here first.  It’s not something I would say no to but not yet.

Football Fables, the hour long documentary by Baff Akoto, takes the viewer straight to the beginning of the story.

We follow Francis Boadi, a player from Ghana’s Under 17 team who is prepped for big things by his manager Kwame. The film also goes to Manchester United scout Tom Vernon’s football academy where players as young as 12 are offered an education alongside training.

Football Fables is a documentary that  both soccer enthusiasts and amateurs will enjoy. The film tackles different issues in a way that is never boring. Although Francis is the focus of the film, academy leaders, Yaw, another student, and  Ghana football personalities past and present are also given a voice. The result is a documentary that is well-rounded, engaging and terribly human. Both Yaw and Francis are charming and endearing and their determination to succeed is almost palpable.

Those curious about the inner workings of the football world will get insights about football trials and the negotiations that take place between scouts and managers. Ghana’s love for the beautiful game  is apparent throughout the film: from the streets, to the stadium to the little boys playing in the fields, the nations lives and breathes football.

Football Fables is a condensed documentary that asks all the right questions but leaves a few unanswered: what has become of Francis for example? We also never get to hear the thoughts of the young footballers’ parents about their sons trials and tribulations, nor do we get a glimpse into the fate of the boys who do not make it.

Despite these shortcomings, Football Fables is a much needed documentary into the dream factory that is the UK Premiership.  With the World Cup in South Africa just a few weeks away, the film gives audiences a chance to see the struggles and processes that shape the African footballer.

Football Fables is showing in London cinemas throughout June

Lizzie shares her incredible journey with us.

Can you describe in a few words what kind of music you sing?
Lizzie Emeh: Soulful, from the heart, it is about my life experience. Musically speaking it is a mixture of soul, funk, r&b.

You wrote the lyrics and also took part on the music arrangements on your album Loud and Proud, could you tell us more about this experience?
When we first started recording the album, Mark Williams said to me: “Loud and Proud is your album”…I didn’t think about what would happen. Only once the recording was well under way did I realize the magic. It felt so good.  Going through the process of making the album to seeing the album finished made it feel part of myself.

What have been some of the highlights of your career?
When Beverley Knight introduced me at the Royal Festival Hall the night my album was launched, it was one of the most special moments in my career.  Although she wasn’t there in person, she pre-recorded the introduction especially for the launch.  It was a brilliant feeling.

My second special moment was when I saw my video Hard Love completed and screened for the first time at the Royal Festival Hall.

What were musicians Charles Stuart and Robbie Fordjour like to work with?
It was a privilege working with them. Charles is a great musician and it was brilliant to work with him on Loud and Proud. Robbie, he was excellent too! There were songs from the album that they felt were especially close to each of them so they put their own stamp on them.
They brought diversity and quality to Loud and Proud, they made my voice sound sweeter and of course we had a lot of fun too!

Did you learn something from them?
What I learnt is that on the next album I will push myself more.

Which artists have inspired you and influenced your music and career?
Stevie Wonder, Beverley Knight, Lauryn Hill, Temptations, The Supremes, Bob Marley & The Wailers, George Clinton and P-Funk, so many!

Do you think your music reaches both learning disabled and non learning disabled people?
Yes, yes! My music can be heard by everyone. I have had a lot of people saying to me what I do is inspirational and brilliant. I hear it from learning disabled and non learning disabled people.

You are the first solo artist with learning disabilities to launch an album in the UK, how does this make you feel?
I feel very proud. I did it not only for myself but also for all the people with learning disabilities out there.

Do you think your music career is giving you a voice in the learning disabled community?
Yeah, definitely. I can see it when they write to me, when people purchase my album at the gigs and every time they download my material.

Do you think your personal experience can inspire and make a difference in the future of other disabled artists’ careers?
I think so. People turn around and ask: “How did you do it? How did you manage with your disability?” They say: “ You have made us noticed”. I say if I can do it, so can you.

Are you working on new songs at the moment?
I’m hard at work on my next album.  This album is going to be much more focused on my feelings and I am getting more deeply involved in choosing the right sound.  I’m exploring and discovering new ways to use my voice.  We’re bringing in new collaborators to keep the material fresh.

What motivates you to keep making music?
I just have the drive to do it all the time. I get up and I feel like singing, before I go to bed I feel like singing… in the shower I feel like singing! I also love being on stage, every time I am there my adrenaline is sky-high.

How has Heart n Soul helped develop your music career?
Heart n Soul has inspired me and made me feel more serious about what I want to achieve.  Mark Williams (Heart n Soul’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director) who played the guitar on the album has always been behind me. Pino Frumiento, Heart n Soul’s founder artist has also been an inspiration. Pino has learning disabilities and has written over 50 songs. I want to be as good as Pino at songwriting.

Heart n Soul believes in me and have encouraged me to have faith in myself. It has been a lot of work but everything you want to achieve needs a lot of hard work.

Loud and Proud, Lizzie Emeh’s CD is available on iTunes or from Heart n Soul.

Call 020 8694 1632 to order a copy for £9.50 – includes postage and packaging.

Visit Lizzie’s website:
www.myspace/lizzieemeh

For more information, contact Heart n Soul:
Tel: 020 8694 1632
Email: info@heartnsoul.co.uk
Web: www.heartnsoul.co.uk

See Lizzie Emeh performing at Paradise Gardens Festival in Victoria Park, London on 19 & 20 June 2010

Read our interview with Tatyana Ali

Watch the all the episodes of BUPPIES below. Each episode lasts 3 minutes and is preceded by an ad.

Episode 1: Let There Be Drama
The gang throws Quinci a birthday party that turns out one disaster after the next.

Episode 2: The Case of the Ex
The girls advise Quinci on how to approach her ex-fiance. Eliot and Shaka run into a shadowy friend from the past.

Episode 3: Stilletos We Lost in the Fire
Quinci finds herself face-to-face with Derek and his new girlfriend.

Episode 4: The Fire This Time
Quinci inquires about a familiar pair of shoes on Bitsy’s feet. Truth confronts Eliot.

Episode 5: Truth Will Set You Free
Quinci walks in on Truth and Eliot. Shaka gets a surprise from an uninvited party guest.

Episode 6: Fear v. Responsibility
Priscilla reveals an explosive secret. Kourtney digs for dirt on Shaka’s hidden relationship.

Episode 7: 99 Problems
Priscilla and Eliot each muster the courage to come clean. Shaka finds himself caught between a rock and a hard place named Kourtney.

Episode 8: The One You’re With
Derek begs Quinci’s forgiveness. Nikki confronts Shaka on where they stand.

Episode 9: Come Close
Eliot is forced to make a tough decision. Meanwhile, Quinci is caught between the pain Derek caused in her past and what her heart feels now.

Episode 10: Pretty Wings
The finale. Quinci looks her past right in the face and moves toward the future.

Highlife music originated in Ghana in the 1800s and enjoyed a golden age during the 1950s and 1960s. The defiant orchestra of talking drums, xylophones and calabash shakers layered with lutes, fiddles, penny whistles and all manner of small portable instruments provided the perfect soundtrack for a continent – chafing at the constraining binds of colonialism – to express their hunger for independence.
The seed that sprung from the heart of Ghana flowered across Africa, each incarnation distinctive. Sierra Leone built on highlife and created the hybrid palm-wine music; Congo fused it with their native soukous sound, while Nigerian bandleader Fela Kuti infused it with American funk and wah wah electric guitars and invented afrobeat.

London band Yaaba Funk have continued the tradition of mixing and blending by melding highlife, afrobeat and funk with the bass-heavy sounds that exemplify much of London music to create a new offshoot.

Their debut album, Afrobeast, comes four years after the band’s formation. It opens with the glowing introduction, Me Nye Me Dofo, a warm, funk-soaked track dominated by guitar phrases that taste of sunshine and open-air revelry. The track is dedicated to broadcaster Charlie Gillett who introduced Britain to Youssou N’Dour and Salif Keita, raising the profile of world music through his BBC radio show.
The second track, Bukom Mashie, is a reworked cover of a traditional Ghanaian song that started life as a dance-floor-filler and remains so in its latest manifestation. It begins with a stark, rump-shaking talking drum, a rhythm soon intensified by guitar and horn accents, which compliment each other in a samba-like beat. Trying not to dance is like trying to eat gum without chewing.

Afrobeast is filled with mid and up-tempo songs expertly crafted to get an audience up and moving. It is therefore remarkable that with such a rhythm driven, buoyant genre of music, two of the strongest songs on the eight-track album are the slower ones.

The restrained plucking of an electric guitar opens Kalabuliman with an aching sense of sorrow. ‘They came with the bible and left with our land’, the translation of the song’s title reads. You grasp the hurt of people betrayed by politicians and religious leaders in the mournful humming vocals and plaintive mouth organ wailing in the background.  But like the resilience of a people who rise and rise and rise a third of the way in the tempo picks up, the vocals grow in strength and horns surge confidently to punctuate phrases.  A subtle transition and the track is suddenly bold and joyful.

Mutani N’Africa (When you pray to your gods, also pray to your leaders), similarly transforms from a sombre guitar melody kept in time by a steady shaker into a strident marching drum roll with an upbeat samba feel.

Afrobeast takes highlife from the sun-scorched streets of Ghana and roots it in the urban grind of London, adding a compelling new chapter to the continuing story of a genre that galvanised a generation, underscored a movement and prevails despite the current trend for all things western. Along with delivering an accomplished album Yaaba Funk have further succeeded in capturing the energy, excitement and gaiety of their live performances. Listening to their album is like bringing the party home with you.

Afrobeast will be out on 10 May 2010

The band, renowned for tearing up dance floors with their energised and percussion-heavy live performances, was launching their debut album, Afrobeast. Earlier in the day I met up with Kessie and Paul Brett (bass and percussion) to find out how the band came together and how they managed to wrestle their incredible live sound on to a record.

How did the band get its name?

Richmond: I first came into this country when I was about 16 in 1981 and for about eight or nine years I didn’t listen to any African music whatsoever, it was all about pop and rock music. One day I just happened to be out walking and passed Sterns (world music shop), and popped in there. The first record I saw was an album called Ancestral Music from Africa. I didn’t like African music at the time but bought it purely for its appearance. The second album I bought in there was an album by someone called Captain Yaaba and the album was called Yaaba Funk. So in a way Sterns are responsible for the beginning of Yaaba Funk.

How has the band evolved over the years?

Paul: Most of us met in the African drumming / African dance scene in London. Richmond used to play with Agido, a pan African dance ensemble. Members also used to play samba not just African drums. It first started at parties where we used to say ‘Let’s have a bit of a jam,’ we’d set up all these drums and percussion instruments. The DJ would get the crowd going then we’d come on and play. Then I was like, ‘I’ve got a wicked keyboard and it’s got a really fat baseline’ so we started using that, then Richmond started singing, soon we thought, ‘we might as well have some guitar.’ Gradually we added a couple of horns, then Helen came on as another vocalist.

Richmond: Yaaba Funk is a bit like a hoover, we go around picking up new musicians. Initially it was just 15 drummers and Paul on the bass, there wasn’t any singing.

Paul: Proper drum and bass.

Richmond: It’s grown organically; it wasn’t a conscious decision to start a band.

How did you decide on highlife?

Richmond: I like to think highlife was chosen because I’m from Ghana, but it was always going to be something African because we’re all drummers. The first song we played as a band was ‘Hwe Hwe,’ we’d play it at parties and people would love it. Then Paul suggested we start writing our own songs.

Paul: I’ve always been much more interested in creating original music although there are so many great tunes from the 1970s and 1980s. There’s always a temptation to say ‘Oh this is a great tune, let’s do a version of that!’ But we’ve got a lot of ideas and there have been a lot of influences since then that we bring into our music like dub, reggae, broken-beat, house, a bit of rock and funk.

How important was it to have a recorded version of what is essentially a live musical genre?

Richmond: We’ve been around for about four years and in that time there’s been continuous talk of this album coming out. We made a promotional EP and it sounded a little too produced, fans who’d seen us on stage said, ‘This doesn’t sound like you.’ We decided next time we’d try to recreate what we do on stage. We spent two days rehearsing the songs on the album, then we went into the studio, set it all up and just recorded it as if it were live. We had dividers in there to try and separate the sound a little bit and the vocals and horns were added later but we tried to capture as much of the live feel as we could. Once you start mixing you lose certain aspects of it but overall I think we’ve done really well.

Highlife has some very political roots. Were there any political points you wanted to make?

Richmond: Kalabule Man criticizes politicians. It talks about the bad things they do and how they cheat people even referencing Fela Kuti’s songs. The lyrics – ‘They call him Mister Preacher man, they call him Mister Reverend Man, but we call him the Kalabule Man’ – talks about how religion can sometimes take over people’s lives, and steal their money. I got the line from a church that my aunt took me to. She couldn’t give birth so she went to this priest and the priest basically said if you sleep with me then you’ll be blessed.

The idea for Nyash! E Go Bite You!! came to me when I heard Tony Blair talking about weapons of mass destruction. While he was speaking his face had a little grin. When I was young my grandfather had a saying:’If you meet an animal and it doesn’t mean to do you any harm it will not show you its teeth’. Seeing Tony Blair on there talking about WMDs I just made the link.

The album’s not all about politics though. Oman Foa celebrates Ghana’s fiftieth anniversary, which is a month away and Hwe Hwe Mu Na Yi is a love song.

How did you select the traditional Ghanaian songs you covered?

Richmond: Bukom Mashie is a former-day dance floor killer. What we did with it isn’t far from the original—it’s a bit of a mash up between the original and a traditional Ga song—it’s old meets new. Hwe Hwe is a classic which we completely changed.

Why did you dedicate the first track to BBC Broadcaster Charlie Gillett?

Paul: We’d already finished the album when he died in March and we were sad because we’d listened to his show and he was someone who used to play all the world music. I can remember going out the next day to buy records I’d heard on his show. We were disappointed he’d never got to hear the album and decided to dedicate something to him. Richmond said the first track (Me Nye Dofo) was the most appropriate because it says ‘Appreciate what you have because it might not always be there. ‘

Richmond: I never met him but because of his radio show I felt like I knew him. I used to record his shows on cassette and go back and listen to them.

There have been so many variations on highlife from afrobeat to hiplife. Do you feel like you’re creating your own hybrid offshoot of highlife?

Paul: We like to call it Grimelife. I’m not playing a bass guitar which means I can get a lot of sounds on the bass synthesizer that give our music that grime feel. In the UK we make bass music, whether that be drum and bass, garage, dub step—I was like, let’s put this bass underneath the high life and add a different sound. We’ve grown up in London so we’re not going to be mellow because London’s not a very mellow place it’s quite edgy. I think we bring a bit of that edge to it.

Richmond: I think music has to evolve and if Fela hadn’t taken highlife and done what he did with it it would have remained static. I think we’d be doing him a disservice if we just took the sound and emulated and didn’t do anything to it. We’re just trying to bring it into the twenty-first century and wake people up to the fact that at one point in the 1960s or 1970s it was the music of Africa. Why should it be relegated to a museum?

High life isn’t considered hip in its homeland. Do you hope to reignite interest in African music with African youths?

Richmond: Absolutely! Back home, whatever is flavour of the month in the West is what they’ll latch on to. You go to Ghana and you see really fantastic musicians, drummers especially, but once they become successful they start using drum machines. For me the idea is to create a buzz around highlife over here so that it’ll be picked up by people back home. It’s alright doing hiplife but where does the ‘life’ in there come from? They just seem to have forgotten it.

Paul: It’s a shame because I guess it’s cheaper to get a drum machine and a synthesizer rather than getting a 12-piece band, but it’s just not the same.

Richmond: We’re never going to be able to program hip hop beats like the Americans because it’s not us. Similarly with reggae, Jamaicans are better at it. Some of the old artists do interesting things with it but the majority of African reggae is just so bland compared to where it’s come from.

What’s next for Yaaba Funk?

Paul: I think next year we’re going to tackle Europe. France has got a very strong African music scene; I think they’re more open to African and African-Caribbean music than the UK which is more cutting edge. We’ve also got a next album of material pretty much ready.

Richmond: We’ve more or less captured London. It’ll be good to take the sound out of London and possibly into Africa. I’d love to take Yaaba Funk to Ghana and Nigeria. We’ve got ideas about recording the next album in Ghana and maybe involving some of the old highlife giants if we can. Do some kind of a Buena Vista Social Club type thing.

Afrobeast is out now. Read our review of the album.

Jesse Boykins III (JBIII) is an emerging force in contemporary soul music; he has trained under Bilal, performed alongside the likes of Chrisette Michele and Eric Roberson and is due to release his second LP Love Apparatus later this year.  Jesse was in London recently headlining the Writer’s Block 2nd Anniversary show and Catch a Vibe spent an hour with the man himself to talk about music, performing and having fun in London despite being stuck in the UK due to volcanic ash.

CAV: You made your UK debut at Cargo, in April 2010 headlining the Writer’s Block show.  How did this opportunity present itself?
JBIII: I’ve been getting a lot of love from blogs in the UK and Writer’s Block just reached out.  They had been paying attention to my music and kept me in mind for the event and they emailed me and requested that I come out to perform…  I didn’t expect to get so much love from the crowd, it was definitely a good vibe and a great experience in my career.

CAV: For those that missed your last show, when will you return to London to perform?
JBIII: I’m trying to work something out for either the summer or fall.  Right now we are trying to organise a university tour but I’ll definitely be back before the end of the year because my new album is coming out in the fall.

CAV: Speaking of your new album, Love Apparatus: how long did it take you to complete this project because you released two albums Dopamine and then The Beauty Created in 2008?
JBIII: I actually started Love Apparatus before The Beauty Created, which is kinda weird.  I had completed two songs already for Love Apparatus, they were just two songs, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them and then I went off on a tangent which was The Beauty Created album.  Later I came back and revisited those two songs and it inspired me to continue working with producer Machine Drum.  Once we started working again it took us about eight or nine months to write and record Love Apparatus.  The first single Plain should be released in June; it’s basically about being in a relationship where you have really high expectations of that person.  You think they are going to fit that image of your perfect soulmate and in the end it’s just plain.

CAV: Is Love Apparatus a concept album?
JBIII: It’s definitely a conceptual album. I like the artwork to tell the story before you even hear the songs.  With Love Apparatus in my right hand I’m holding a heart and in my left hand I’m holding the world, this represents the balance between being true to myself as artist and being able to fit in the world at the same time.  This is the first album I have written where all the songs weren’t about women, it definitely shows a lot of growth in my artistry and I’m really proud of myself.  I’m really excited about this album.

CAV: If you had to describe Love Apparatus as a recipe what would be the ingredients?
JBIII: Wow, okay.  The vibe is an 80′s theme, it’s kinda like Phil Collins meets… (laughs) I can’t even really say who else.  Love Apparatus is futuristic, soulful… it’s a musical gumbo, that’s what I’m going to call it, a musical gumbo.  It has everything in it but the main ingredient is definitely 80′s sounding synthesizers.

CAV: Describe your creative process.
JBIII: There are a wide range of ways that I start songs, I’m a writer first so it could start with a story, poem or a song.  The majority of the time I start with lyrics but I also like to create from a moment, for instance if I’m working with a musician I’ll freestyle.  A lot of songs on The Beauty Created album started as freestyles, like the song Shine (Jesse sings) ‘You’re hotter than a New York summer in a Spike Lee movie,’ that was a freestyle and then everything else come from that.  The creative process really varies, with Love Apparatus I have a song called Greyscale and me and Machine Drum, the producer I was working with on the project, started the song together at the same time.  As soon as he played me the sample I started writing and by the time he had finished making the song, I had finished the lyrics and the melody so really it just depends on the inspiration.

CAV:  You have performed alongside some of my favourite artists, Chrisette Michele and Eric Roberson and you’ve even studied under Bilal.  What’s it like working with such talented individuals and what do you take from these experiences?
JBIII: I take whatever I can get (laughs).  I always look at it as a blessing, it’s great to be around creative people that look at you and know you care about your art as much as they care about their art.  Anytime I’m in a room with Eric, Chrisette, Bilal, Dwele; people that I look up to, people that I listen to, to hear them say that they listen to me as well is always humbling, it’s like wow this isn’t real.  I always try to savour all those moments when I’m around those cats.  When I get calls from Phonte or 9th Wonder to me it’s like wow!  I’m just a kid who started recording songs in my room, I’m not signed to anyone, I put my music out myself and most of my music video we shot ourselves with no budget.  To get the respect that I’m getting is an honour.

CAV: Of all the artists you have encountered who has made the greatest impact in terms of your artistic development?
JBIII: I’ve learned so much so rapidly, it’s hard to narrow it down but I always think of moments.  One of the main moments that I remember is when I was working with Bilal, he was my voice trainer.  My first lesson with him, I didn’t sing anything, he made me exercise for four hours.  I’m dying, I’m breathing hard, trying to stay alive and then he said the lesson was over.  He then said, you see how you are breathing heavy like this, every first breath of any performance of any song you ever sing; your first breath should feel just like how it feels right now.  So that lesson was probably the one that sticks with me most.

CAV: What are your career highlights so far?
JBIII: Putting out music that I have creative control over is big to me.  My song Tabloids reached number two on the BET J (BET Jazz) charts when it was released as a music video under Erykah Badu’s Honey.  So that was probably another big thing that I really didn’t think would ever happen especially since we didn’t spend any money on that video.  Another thing would be as much travelling as I’m able to do, I love travelling.  I love experiencing different cultures; being around different energies; being in different climates; trying different foods.  I know a lot of people who don’t leave where they are from, so having the freedom to travel is a big accomplishment.  I’m about to shoot Music Matters for BET, a music special on artists who are passionate about their craft, Nneka did it first and I’m the next up so I’m going to shoot that when I get back to the States.

CAV: When it comes to the creative process you pretty much do everything, which must be incredibly liberating.  How are you able to create, promote and distribute your music without the help of a major label?
JBIII: There definitely is a process and it’s still a process, still some trial and error.  I have a team behind me, no one does everything alone, ever.  I started a label in 2007, a LLC called NomaDic MuSic with one of my best friends Sinorice Moss.  I have a manager her name is Joya Nemley, who has managed me since 2006.  I also have a creative director who is also one of my best friends and he has designed all my album artwork; my logos and directed most of my videos.   So I have a small team of people who have helped me along the way.  As far as putting my music out, it was just a matter of research.  I just looked up all my favourite artists and researched their lives.  I looked at how they released their music; the paths they took; what went wrong for them and what went right.  I also asked for a lot of advice as I knew Eric Roberson and Bilal and could just call them up and ask ‘What do you think about releasing this song this month?’ and they would give me their two cents and I would take that into consideration and then try it. So it was definitely a guerrilla approach lots of trial and error.

CAV: Based on what you’ve learned thus far what are you going to do differently when you release Love Apparatus?
JBIII: I’m going to take everything to another level, I didn’t release the last two records as I should have as far as marketing goes.  You know like putting out a single then a video; pushing singles and trying to get them on radio.  With this project I feel it’s time and everything is going to be done correctly.  I’m releasing a single in June; a month later we are going to release the video for it.  Promo videos are going to be pushed, I even recorded promo videos out here in the UK.  I’m trying to get distribution for the project so you can go and buy it in the stores.  I don’t really want to release it until I find a situation where someone calls me and asks “Where can I get your CD?” and I can say “Go to HMV”.

CAV: According to your twitter post you are shooting a music video for the song Amorous from your 2008 release The Beauty Created.  Why are you shooting a video for an album you released in 2008 and why did you decide to shoot it in London?
JBIII: I really wanted people to remember The Beauty Created album and the last video would signify the end of something.  I wanted it to be Amorous because it’s everyone’s favourite song; it’s my favourite song; it’s the top selling song on iTunes and when I’m on stage and I say the next song is Amorous I get a great reaction from the audience.  So the video is like a thank you for the support I’ve received from everyone.  At first I wasn’t sure if I should do it because it doesn’t make sense from a marketing stand point but from an acknowledgement stand point it definitely does.  I’ve been watching these old French romance movies from the 60s and it inspires this concept that I came up with for the video and because we got stuck here in London due to the volcano I was like we gotta do it.  The shoot was really fun, it was like we were sight-seeing while shooting the video.  We shot some footage on the London Eye; on London Bridge; in front of Buckingham Palace; Trafalgar Square and everywhere that tourists go.

CAV:  If you could form a soul super group to record one track with, which artists would you select?
JBIII: Okay here goes my soul super group: Little Dragon, a band from Sweden, the lead singer Yukimi Nagano is amazing; Bilal; Aretha Franklin; Bjork and Marvin Gaye.

CAV:  What would you be doing in a parallel universe, if music wasn’t an option?
JBIII: I would definitely be doing something along the lines of entertainment or teaching.  I used to teach elementary school for a while and I act on the side sometimes, so if my career had nothing to do with music it would be either be acting or teaching.

Well thankfully we exist in this time space so the world can experience Love Apparatus scheduled to be released in autumn and albums yet to come from the talented, charismatic and passionate Jesse Boykins III.

We voted The Beauty Created as one of the top soul albums of 2009

Keep up with Jesse on MySpace and  Twitter