Keith Tippett: British jazz pianist dies age 72.
The ‘west country bloke with a great big heart’ collaborated with a wide range of musicians from Louis Moholo-Moholo to Robert Wyatt
The British jazz pianist and composer Keith Tippett has died aged 72. A post on Tippett’s official Facebook page did not disclose the cause of death.
Tippett was known for his unique approach to improvisation and prepared piano. He played in a number of adventurous, rhythmic jazz formations, including Ovary Lodge, Ark and Mujician, and composed for and performed with many leading contemporary classical groups. He collaborated with musicians from the reclusive folk singer Shelagh McDonald to exiled South African musicians such as Louis Moholo-Moholo.
In 2018, Tippett had a heart attack, which led to a debilitating form of pneumonia. It left him unable to work for a period, during which his contemporaries rallied to fundraise for him and his family. He returned to live performance in early 2019.
David Sylvian, formerly of the pop group Japan, paid tribute to Tippett for showing him “great generosity when I took my first tentative steps towards sessions based on improvisation back in the early 90s”, he tweeted. “He forged an undeniably unique path wherever fortune happened to find him.”
Source: The Guardian
Eminem has shared a list of his favourite rappers of all time
The rapper shared his eclectic choices when replying to a fan
Eminem has shared a list of his favourite rappers of all time, replying to a fan on Twitter.
YouTuber NoLifeShaq shared a tweet reading: “Who is the greatest rapper of all time,” with a video attached of himself DMing the same question to a host of rappers including Drake and Travis Scott.
Read more: Eminem – ‘Music To Be Murdered By’ review: shock rapper continues to grow old disgracefully
In a surprise reply to the tweet, Eminem laid out his list, which includes Tupac, Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar and more.
“For me, in no particular order…” Eminem wrote. “Toss up between wayne, pac, royce, jay, redman, treach, g. rap, biggie & king crook….”
He then added more names, tweeting: “Plus redman, LL, nas, joyner, kendrick, cole, andre, rakim, kane…”
For me, in no particular order… Toss up between wayne, pac, royce, jay, redman, treach, g. rap, biggie & king crook….
— Marshall Mathers (@Eminem) June 14, 2020
Eminem has previously shared a list of his favourite rappers, rapping in his 2002 song ‘Till I Collapse’: “I got a list, here’s the order of my list that it’s in / It goes, Reggie, Jay-Z, Tupac and Biggie/ Andre from Outkast, Jada, Kurupt, Nas and then me.”
The rapper surprise-released his new album ‘Music To Be Murdered By’ at the start of 2020. Reviewing the album, NME wrote that it saw Eminem “growing old disgracefully,” adding: “The 47-year-old has surprise-released another album. This one veers between maturity and adolescent outbursts, between clumsy pop commercialism and something close to outsider art. If he sometimes sounds stuck in the past, Eminem also proves himself capable of growth.”
Eminem has been donating money to coronavirus relief projects across the duration of the pandemic, and recently issued a rallying call to his hometown of Detroit to overcome the virus.
Source: nme.com
Kunle Afolayan Unveils New Production Company & Film Academy
Renowned film maker, Kunle Afolayan has a few projects that he’s unveiling to the creative industry and to creatives and content creators everywhere.
The award winning director who is kick starting a film and TV academy gave a virtual tour of his new production enterprise.
Kunle Afolayan who’s parent company, Golden Effects Pictures, is involved in film production, documentaries, television commercials, music videos, film equipment rentals and film consultations is breaking the Golden Effects Pictures brand into subsidiary brands, offering specialized services under the name KAP Hub.
KAP Hub will consist of, Kap Motion Pictures, a film and television academy, a cinema, Golden Effects Services Ltd, a restaurant and bar, live band, art and craft shops and a creative minds hangout.
The film academy called KAP Film & Television Academy, specially designed to provide hands-on experience from veteran and great film professionals with in-depth industry experience, exposure to diverse film making tools while being on the set of different movies, and for more people who are passionate about art, creativity, television, film and the new media.
Here’s an idea of what to expect on this project.
KAP Film & Television Academy
KAP 120-seater cinema which is still in the works will provide a 360-viewing experience.
KAP cinema
Sound Stage Studio with a holding capacity of 200 will be among the services rendered by Golden Effects Pictures. You can have control over your video, audio and photoshoot or even create the perfect ambience for your reality television show.
Sound Stage Studio
Don’t be surprised when the film director launches his television network, which is still in the works. With KAP Television, different creatives can share their content with the world at ease.
KAP Television
What’s a film academy without a restaurant and bar where different creatives within the creative space can come together to unwind, eat exquisite dishes, drink and interact with one another. The best part of this experience is that there’s an opportunity of touring a film production house and get to meet different creatives from around the world while being entertained by a live band, yes, a live band.
Tulane to host virtual discussion on “Race in America” with renowned authors Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Cleo Wade and Kiese Laymon.
Renowned national authors Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Kiese Laymon and Cleo Wade will discuss “Race in America” in the next New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University virtual discussion on Wednesday, June 17 at 5 p.m. CDT.
The New Orleans Book Festival at Tulane University will host a virtual discussion on “Race in America” with a trio of renowned national authors, including Dr. Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Kiese Laymon and Cleo Wade, on Wednesday, June 17 at 5 p.m. CDT. Michelle Miller, CBS News national correspondent and co-host of “CBS This Morning: Saturday,” will moderate the discussion. The event is free, but registration is required to participate. Please click here to register.
A distinguished educator, Glaude, Jr., is the chair of the Department of African American Studies and the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University. He is the former president of the American Academy of Religion, the largest professional organization of scholars of religion in the world. Glaude, Jr., is the author of several influential books, including Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, which has been described as “one of the most imaginative, daring books of the twenty-first century.” His most recent book, Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, will be released on June 30, 2020. It is currently available for pre-order.
Laymon is the Ottilie Schillig Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Mississippi. Laymon is the author of the novel, Long Division and a collection of essays, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America, and Heavy: An American Memoir. Heavy, winner of the Andrew Carnegie Medal, the LA Times Isherwood Prize for Autobiographical Prose and Audible’s Audiobook of the Year, was named one of the best books of 2018 by The Undefeated, New York Times, Publishers Weekly, NPR, Broadly, Library Journal, The Washington Post, Southern Living, Entertainment Weekly, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Copies of Laymon’s books can be ordered here.
Wade, a New Orleans native, is the author of the 2018 best-selling book, Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life. Her latest book, Where To Begin: A Small Book About Your Power To Create Big Change In Our Crazy World, was released last October. She was named one of America’s 50 Most Influential Women by Marie Claire, 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company, and “The Millennial Oprah” by New York Magazine. An acclaimed poet, Wade’s writing centers around inspiration, affirmations, activism and female empowerment. Where to Begin and other copies of Wade’s books can be ordered here.
Source: Tulane.edu
SONIA SINGH’S Upcoming Single “NILIKUPENDA”
Is An Emotionally-Tainted Missive
Sonia Singh’s latest single “Nilikupenda” is an emotional message to a loved one lost, a goodbye letter that sparks memories of who we are and where we come from. Nilikupenda has a bluesy vibe yet can be placed within an Afropop context. It is a timeless piece which gives Sonia’s voice a strong fundament to perform an emotionally driven song filled with metaphors and life’s poetry.
The song was produced by TY´Mix from Lagos Nigeria and the video was shot on location in Kenya by Lance Productions.
Sonia’s music is best described as a mixture of r&b, pop and afrobeats and with her single sang in Swahili, she targets the east african market and beyond.
The single/video will officially be released on 19/06/2020 worldwide by Ajazco Records (digital only).
ABOUT SONIA SINGH
Born to a Rwandese mother and an Indian father in Kenya, Sonia Singh started dancing at the tender age of 7 and later on developed a passion for singing, her major influences being artists such as Miriam Makeba, Otis Redding, Prince, Mariah Carey, Bob Marley, Lata Mangeshkar, Brandy and Aaliyah. She refined her music abilities in a burgeoning music scene in Mombasa/Kenya and in 1996 moved to Germany where she started pursuing her singing career on a more professional level.
In 2001,she collaborated with various artists forming a charity project (brother’s and sister’s keepers) against racism and discrimination in Germany recording and releasing the song “Liebe und Verstand” which reached the top 40 of the German single charts. In 2003 she became the lead singer for the band “Frank Pop” and shortly after, covered the song ‘Verdammt lang her’ from the legendary German/Kölsch band “Bap” for the ‘Arsch Huh’ C.D compilation. In 2006 she went on tour with Jan Delay and worked extensively with him on his album “Merzedes Dance”. Sonia has since been active in the live music circuit working with popular bands in and out of Germany as well as expanding her portfolio and brand as a solo artist and performer. She recently introduced her music to the east African market whilst on a media tour through Rwanda and Kenya. She was invited by major TV stations and Online blogs, which has given her brand more visibility and leverage . Her new release which is sang in Swahili is targeted at the east African market and will be released on the 19.06.2020.
Image credit: Sonia Singh- Instagram
The Movement Of African Artifacts From European Museums
Restitution and repatriation of sub-Saharan African art and cultural heritage in museums and private collections is an area of increasing global focus and debate.
Many of these works are in Western museums and were acquired by European countries from their former colonies particularly through armed pillage, military expeditions, missionary collections, and/or taken without sufficient documentation of consent or adequate compensation. Racist attitudes that underpinned colonialism have, for the most part, not changed, and this makes the debate contentious.
In November 2018, president Emmanuel Macron asked for a groundbreaking 258-page report during his tenure on the restitution of African art (The Sarr-Savoy Report), since major museums in the United Kingdom and France (the two major colonial powers) were not addressing the issue. The report was a positive step in the right direction; it is the first time a European leader acknowledged there was something wrong with Western institutions holding plundered works hostage. However, little concrete action has been taken since by France or the international museum sector since the report’s release.
Macron promised to return objects looted from their African homelands, starting with 26 artifacts from the Kingdom of Dahomey, now Republic of Benin, taken by colonial military leader Alfred Amédée Dodds in 1890. However, they have still not been sent back. The French culture minister reportedly asked heritage professionals at a recent symposium in Paris “not to focus on the sole issue of restitution”, but to instead emphasize cultural cooperation with Africa.
At present, there are questions as to whether the UK‘s efforts to address ongoing calls for repatriation of stolen artifacts will meet or exceed the bar set by France and Germany who have devoted considerable government resources and even more time developing their own guidelines.
The British Museum has remained intransigent about the issue of repatriation and has equally refused to pay restitution to the African countries whose artifacts are held in bondage. It has, however, entered into discussions with the Benin Dialogue Group (BDG), this is the Benin kingdom founded in the 12th century in southern Nigeria. The BDG, which includes museum representatives from Germany, the UK, the Netherlands, Austria and Sweden with partners from Nigeria, the Edo state government and representatives of the Royal Court of Benin with support of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Nigeria (NCMM) that was established in 2010 to craft a solution to this problem.
One realizes the prospect of colonial restitution is more complicated than anticipated. The response from Western museums and the BDG has been disparate, ranging from examples of unconditional restitution and repatriations to a lace of engagement with African communities. However, museum reps propose to loan items to African museums, which is insufficient. Christie’s and Sotheby’s ongoing auctions of historical African art are controversial as these artifacts could be candidates for repatriation to their countries of origin. This sidesteps the real issue of restoring full legal ownership and intellectual property rights of these artworks to their countries of origin.
Debates have been ignited among Western museum professionals who fear returning African objects are a sign their precious collections will be gutted.
Debates have also ignited among Western museum professionals who fear returning African objects are a sign that their precious collections would be gutted. This fear is unfounded since there are hundreds of thousands of objects from sub-Saharan Africa in these collections, of which only a fraction is on display at any time.
Many European museums and collections are currently protected by assertions of “inalienable and imprescriptible” right, prohibiting them from permanently handing over accessioned objects. UK museums do not have a single, agreed upon protocol for dealing with repatriation requests. The British Museum Act of 1962 prohibits an institution from disposing of objects in its collection except in very limited circumstances, and any effort to repatriate objects would require government action.
No permanent historical African artifacts should be kept in Western museums and collections while Africans have none of their own. Otherwise, Western museums will continue to condone the ongoing plunder of Africa of the past five hundred years, which aside from colonialism include the theft of African bodies for the gruesome Transatlantic Slave Trade. We should note that Western countries have also not offered any restitution for the suffering imposed on Africans by slavery, even though Britain paid its aristocracy reparations in exchange for giving up their slaves.
What is to be done? African consultants with specific areas of expertise such as intellectual property rights lawyers and consultants, renowned African art historians, art conservators, and architects should be hired to create guidelines and for advice.
Two heads of a royal ancestor from the former Benin Kingdom, a part of modern-day Nigeria, 18th century (R) and 19th century (L) are displayed at the Quai Branly Museum in Paris, France, Nov 23, 2018.
In the case of Nigeria, members of the Royal Court of Benin, Edo state and the NCMM are currently advising the BDG on how cultural patrimony from the Benin kingdom and Nigeria that are scattered around the world should be restituted and repatriated. They should secure the unconditional transfer of the intellectual property rights of its cultural patrimony to the rightful owners of said objects and offer a fresh perspective on how to address the legal complexities that govern the issues of return and restitution (e.g., license agreements for reproductions, royalties on artifacts awaiting repatriation, etc.). They should also obtain and review inventories from Western museums to identify artworks, cultural, and human artifacts that should be returned to the Royal Court of Benin.
Above all, any further discussion of this issue must secure Africans’ ownership of the intellectual property rights of their cultural patrimony as a future source of income in the digital economy, work with relevant institutions to ensure appropriate funding is available to successfully preserve and safeguard African artifacts that are to be repatriated. The discussions should also ensure any new museum built in Africa to house these works meets or exceeds prescriptions of the Alliance of Museum and/or International Museum standards.
The narrative for African artifacts remaining in possession of Western museums must also be redefined by providing insights from an African perspective. Africans should be able to see cultural artifacts of their own heritage in their own cultural contexts. Restitution and repatriation of the artifacts and cultural heritage would allow Africans to participate in interpreting their meaning. Without these steps, the debate will continue to lack concrete results.
Source: Quartz
Universal Music Group Opens Up In Morocco and Israel
Universal Music Group (UMG) has announced a significant expansion of its operations within the Middle East & North Africa (MENA), with the launch of new divisions in Morocco and Israel, effective immediately.
UMG becomes the first major music company to establish standalone offices in Morocco and Israel, adding to its existing network of UMG operations in more than 60 countries worldwide.
Announcing the strategic expansion and new divisions, Adam Granite, EVP, Market Development at Universal Music Group said, “As part of our global commitment to discover and support music talent around the world, we are excited to launch our new standalone UMG operations within the Middle-East and North Africa, in order to accelerate our ability to support local artistry and talent in Israel, Morocco and surrounding countries.
“Our intention is to provide real support, infrastructure and people on the ground in each country, helping the entire regional music ecosystem grow, and giving local artists the best opportunity to reach new audiences around the world. These offices will help UMG become a vital part of the regional music ecosystem and to help bring these new sounds and artist talent to music fans around the world.”
“Our intention is to provide real support, infrastructure and people on the ground in each country, helping the entire regional music ecosystem grow, and giving local artists the best opportunity to reach new audiences around the world.”
Universal Music Morocco will operate from Casablanca, under the leadership of local business development executive Serena Safieddine, who will work alongside UMG’s existing regional headquarters in Dubai, and will report into Patrick Boulos, CEO, Universal Music MENA.
Universal says its Morocco operation will focus on A&R, creative and commercial partnerships, while working to ensure that local North African artists can reach global audiences audiences. Successful local repertoire in North Africa includes traditional Arabic music and North-African hip-hop from Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
The team in Morocco will develop key projects alongside Universal Music France, where labels have previously achieved success with French-language artists from the region.
“We will work with all of our local partners and platforms, and together within the artist community to help shine a spotlight on the great talent from the region.”
Patrick Boulos said, “Our new team in Morocco will help accelerate growth, talent discovery and commercial opportunities for our artists and partners across the region and beyond. Within Morocco and their immediate neighbours, there is a wealth of untapped artist talent and we are excited to introduce these unique sounds to global audiences, platforms and partners.”
Serena Safieddine said, “I am delighted to be officially launching Universal Music Morocco. We will work with all of our local partners and platforms, and together within the artist community to help shine a spotlight on the great talent from the region.”
Universal Music Israel will be based in Tel Aviv and will operate under the leadership of experienced media business executive Yoram Mokady, who has been appointed as MD, Universal Music Israel, effective immediately.
Mokady will report directly to Adam Granite, EVP, Market Development at UMG. Universal Music Israel will focus on the signing and developing of domestic artist talent, alongside exploring creative opportunities for commercial partnerships, new technology and innovation for artists, labels and partners within Israel.
Mokady joins UMG from HOT Telecommunications, Israel’s leading cable-provider where he served as Vice-President, Content and was responsible for management of all content activities including original productions, VOD, purchased series, purchased linear channels and HOT’s unique own linear channels.
“As the first major global music company in-market [in Israel], UMG will look to identify, sign and develop the best domestic artist talent, whilst working closely with partners, technology companies and local start-ups.”
Prior to leading content strategy, he served as Vice-President, Strategy and Regulation between 2008-2010. He is a qualified lawyer and has previously served as both Chairman of Israel’s Council for Cable TV and Satellite Broadcasting and as Executive Director for the Israeli Broadcasting Regulatory Administration.
Adam Granite “I am delighted to welcome Yoram to UMG and to launch our division in Israel. His extensive experience in managing entertainment content and his proven track record of successful creative, marketing and business leadership, will be vital in establishing Universal Music Israel as the home for Israeli artist and creator talent in the future.”
Yoram Mokady said “We are excited to announce the arrival of UMG, the world’s leading music company into Israel, which will provide a welcome boost for the entire Israeli artist community, whilst strengthening the wider music ecosystem within the country.
