'BODEDEREK

Not An Average Rap Artist! Sister Fa can rap better than most. She can sing and her show is electrifying! I watched her at The Flyover Portobello on Friday, 20th September and was really mesmerised by her performance. Fatou Diatta a.k.a. Sister Fa has dominated Senegalese hip hop for most of the last decade with a powerful flow, great melodies and a bewitching personality. A symbol of the emerging liberation of African womanhood, her lyrics empower and inspires women of the world to assert themselves in a male dominated world. Her music is peppered with influences from hardcore rap, Senegalese pop and innovative reggae. Multilingual, she sings in French, English, Wolof, Manding and Jola. Her album 'Sarabah - Tales From The Flipside of Paradise' is very rich indeed, covering lots of styles and languages. A campaigner for women's right and a champion in the fight against female genital mutilation in Africa and the globe, it was unsurprising that there we...

UPSTAIRS AT THE RITZY!! A beautiful lady ascends the stage. Shy, she quietly picks up her guitar and sings us a song. Just her, and the guitar. Her voice was strong and she was so pretty. I knew I was going to have a great evening. Namvula  sings about her African roots with a great melodic voice. Her musicians were with her as we the audience were entertained. This event was part of the London African Music Festival. The shows have been spread through London and will conclude on Sunday 22nd September.   Mainstream music is thrust upon us all. Sometimes almost as much as we're deluged by information. I find it refreshing to stray from the over-beaten track and seek out different and more effective sounds. Found it last Sunday. Upstairs at the Ritzy in Brixton. The audience was a great one whose musical tastes seemed to have developed to like and appreciate the sophisticated folk songs and music from the African continent.   Namvula's was a ...

Short stories, Hot Topics and relevant information on Music and the Arts! The official Blog page for Bodederek.com seeking to educate, entertain and inform. We invite aspiring writers to showcase their talent here. Read short stories for free here! 2020 Summer Olympics goes to Tokyo J: Tokyo, Japan hosts the 2020 Summer Olympics and that is official. I am happy for Japan and the people of Tokyo.  Troubled recently by a devastating earthquake and the disaster at Fukushima, the decision will bring a smile to the residents of Tokyo and Japan as a whole. This is a validation of the dedication and hard work of the Japanese. Japan first competed at the Olympics in 1912, won it's first medals (two silver) in 1920 in Antwerp. The first gold medals were won in two events (Triple jump and Swimming) in Amsterdam at the 1928 games. The country hosted it's first Games in 1964 and it was memorable. Tokyo's estimated budget for 2020 is in the region of US$3.5billio...

Short stories, Hot Topics and relevant information on Music and the Arts! The official Blog page for Bodederek.com., Seeking to educate, entertain and inform. We invite aspiring writers to showcase their talent here. Read short stories for free here! Raw and Earthy! Chatting with Nigerian music icon and star Queen Salawa Abeni the other day, the subject of the forthcoming   London African Music Festival came up in our conversation.  Now in it's eleventh year, the promoters   Joyful Noise   have been working hard at making this annual event a must for genuine lovers of music who are not taken in by populist hype. They seek out, promote and present artists who never seem to be programmed by some festivals in spite of their true  talent and relevance . Pop, R&B, Soul, Jazz and Gospel music wouldn't be what they are today, without the infusion of African rhythm and sounds into those genres. It's no secret that most of the successful musicians an...

Nigerian Celebrity and Star! I was in Royal company last Saturday night. In the same car as Salawa Abeni on her way to a gig!  Queen Salawa Abeni Queen Salawa permitted me to ride in her car after making sure I was aware of Yoruba traditions and protocols. She was very gracious indeed. So, there I was, cruising down the North Circular road, shoulder to shoulder with a Celebrity Singer . A Child Star and now a Queen . I felt privileged and lucky that I happened in the right place at the right time, not only to meet a woman of immense talent and culture, but to be actually in the same car with an actual African Queen . Queen Salawa Abeni was kind, dignified and courteous throughout the journey. I was pleasantly surprised that we had a lot in common. My love of music and African culture has made me aware of Salawa's career from when she was a little girl and a star on the Nigerian music scene so many years ago. A massive star in Nigeria, she has entertai...

A writer of  hard boiled fiction thrillers! A writer who proved that there is no set rule or formula to write a good book! World class writers and prolific readers of great fiction stories are sad, because... Elmore Leonard died today. A master (in my opinion), of fiction and dialogue, Elmore Leonard has entertained and informed on life in the US. Other works have been set outside the USA. Books like Djibouti and Get Shorty had an international flavour.  Many of his books have been made into successful movies, including Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Rum Punch which later became Jackie Brown, just a few of his writing that were adapted for the big screen. For more, visit his website www.elmoreleonard.com . He will be sorely missed. I will definitely miss his writing. 'Bodederek

The Inspiration! Believe it or not, the story Can you see Me? Was inspired by science.  It has been a common misconception on our planet, that the people living in less developed countries are backward and superstitious. It is also easy to forget that if you remove skin pigmentation and cultural affinities, there is no difference between us. Black, White or Brown, we are all equal in the eyes of God, Creation and the Universe. Science and technology have a momentum all their own that usually, in most cases anyway, makes no allowance for religion, morality nor ethics. The great leap in development by western nations was because scientific and technological discoveries were recorded, written and preserved for future generations to access through education and research. With written records, it was easy to build on these scientific discoveries, build machines with the new technologies to conquer the sea. With superior weaponry, it was easy to overpower and influence the lesser ...