Born Again American - Part 1 “To Sea”

The Born Again American Music Mix is a series of exquisite mixes inspired by a new era. Each week will question and affirm what we know and where we choose to go… from here.

Every Monday starting Jan. 5th and ending Jan. 19th, 1 out of a 3 part Born Again American mix series will be made available on the U Music Drops widget. Every week at Monday 12pm the U Music Drops Player will drop a new mix. You will have 7 days to download that mix for free.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE U MUSIC WIDGET HERE.

PART 1 - TO SEA

Part 1- To Sea, features the wise words of Ruby Dee as she delves into the African American identity in a way that is refreshing and downright timely. I think many African Americans, I know I have, have been left by the crossroads with the victory of this election. The crossroads of our identity. Most, not all, of us have been raised with some or more a degree of cynicism and resentment towards America; leaving us with a splintered, at best, sense of identity.

This is an idea I’ve had on the burner for a minute as Barack was running, now that the will be our president in just a few weeks I could not resist the artistic forces that were willing to give these thoughts voice. As I started piecing together the music I would use on Beatport.com, I came by a site www.visionaryproject.org that is an archive of interviews with prominent African American leaders in the sciences, humanities, arts and politics. I gravitated to the women of course and they surely did not disappoint. At the same time I teamed up with a my friend DJ FoLAKe to play around with the idea that was coming to light.

I am a storyteller and I can’t help but tell one in my art whether it is theater, music or film. It was my pleasure to create this mix and I hope it is your pleasure to listen.

CREDITS/PLAYLIST

Mixed and Arranged by Hanifah Walidah
Co-Mixed by DJ FoLAKe

Main Track: Lonely Quiet by Soul T (Exquisite Records)
Additional Track: Godspeed by Modeselektor (Bpitch Control)
What Do You Know by The Gentle People ( I Records)

Additional Vocals/Poetry: Hanifah Walidah and Olive Demetrius
Wise Words: Ruby Dee (www.visionaryproject.org)
© 2002-2008 The National Visionary Leadership Project. All Rights Reserved.

Photography: Olive Demetrius
Graphic Design: Hanifah Walidah

Special Thanks to Lars Kronlund for introducing me to Beatport.com

Live with U People #56 “The Best of U People”

This week Olive and Hanifah talk about Reverend Warren and review some of the best U People Stories.

Check them live every Thursday at 9pm EST at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/live-with-u-people

NOTE:LIVE WITH UPEOPLE WILL NOT BROADCAST NEXT WEEK CHRISTMAS DAY BUT WILL RETURN JAN 1ST (NEW YEARS DAY AND OLIVE AND HANIFAH’S 3RD ANNIVERSARY)

Live with U People #55: Wintertime Gansta

Live video by Ustream

U People goes live and little loopy. Hanifah and Olive are giddy and excited about the coming holiday.The crisp weather, holiday cheer, and gangsta behavior from wayward governors put is in mind of a simpler time.

We give thanks for all the awards bestowed on the film. Congrats to U People!!!

Also for the work of African Ancestral Lesbians United for Societal Change
Check us and them out this December 20th to celebrate Kwanzaa. Hanifah performs and Olives got a little something to share. We also have another give away. Who can guess this newest song.

As always we love U People

Live with U People #54: Go Olive it’s your Birthday!

Its Olive’s Birthday and we are having a good time talking about well… Olive and all else that pops up in our heads at the moment. So wish Olive a Happy Birthday in the comments and see if you can guess the name of the movie that the song she sings in this episode comes from.

See ya’ll next Thursday at 9pm when we are live with U People.

Live With U People - Ep #53 : Thanksgiving Misgivings

This week Olive and Hanifah come to you stuffed with turkey and madness. Olive suffers from an acute case of the “itis” and looses her mind and decides to where her sister’s wig. As Hanifah endures the randowm swinging of fake hair they talk about the awkwardness of talking grown-up sex with their mothers at the table, thanksgiving misgivings for a lesbian couple and the horror in Mumbai.

Live with U People #52: Black Folks Guide to Black Folks

This week on Live with U People we discuss the sticky issue of having to bridge talks among black folks across sexualities.  How do we reachout and create understanding within the conundrum of being both gay and Black. How do we deal with a larger black community that often sees gay as white and black gays as separate. We want to talk honestly about methods of effective approach that involve love and understanding. Did we do our part in regards to Prop 8? Where do we stand when white gays attack the black community as if we (LGBT folks of color) are not of it?

Funny People Episode 3 “Yes I Can!”

The newest notorious odd couple are back! Jerry Beige a Jewish-Italian retiree and PLAYher an Oakland transplant of dubious means talk about everything and anything. They have a couple tips for Barack Obama administration that you wont want to miss.

Live with U People #51: Prop 8

Tonight we talk about the issues within the issues around Prop 8. Racism within the gay community, civil rights and the increasing violence in LA around Prop 8.

Notes: This is our first live episode so pardon the technical difficulties with audio distortion within the first couple of minutes. If you want to see the U People Prop 8 PSA featured at the top of this broadcast click here.

SHOWTIME: EVERYDAY THURSDAY, 9PM

CHAT DIALOGUE

Register your Chat Room Name for the next show at www.USTREAM.TV

09:09 ustreamer-39705 : I can hear you
09:09 ustreamer-42899 : hear ya
09:09 ustreamer-75972 : yes
09:11 ustreamer-42899 : Whats up!
09:11 ustreamer-75972 : Olive mic needs to be adjusted
09:11 ustreamer-42899 : lol
09:11 ustreamer-75972 : yes
09:11 ustreamer-75972 : this is Z
09:11 ustreamer-75972 : you are too loud
09:18 ustreamer-75972 : I think Hispanol is now DR
09:19 ustreamer-37705 : its a trip here in LA.  it is getting violent.  and black folks should be ashamed
09:22 ustreamer-37705 : the protests in general are getting violent. my roomate ran over a prop 8 yes personal through a bottle at him yesterday and he ran over him with his bike.  but everyday someone is getting hurt and general fights are breaking everyday
09:23 Journey_Wmn : I saw a documentary about the log cabin republicans. When they were campaigning for gay marriage they completely disregarded all POC communities, because they assumed we’d be anti gay marriage
09:24 Dreamwalker : Im not sure what prop is really being used for…will it be the gauge for the nation? So if it flys or fails in CA then the rest of the nation will follow suit?! This is’nt a one state decision
09:25 ustreamer-75972 : I think we in the Gay community must create an agenda that transcends race.  The ballot was not only lost in California, it was also lost in Arizona and Florida.
09:26 ustreamer-37705 : we should be ashamed as black people because 90 plus black voters got behind obama but gays dont have rights.  a black preacher here said “they need to just give up”  huh?
09:27 ustreamer-37705 : here in LA….sorry  and i am a woman.  i will call
09:27 Journey_Wmn : I loved that workout video you guys put up the other day
09:29 Journey_Wmn : holla
09:29 zakiyyah : yes
09:33 Journey_Wmn : I love you guys!!
09:36 zakiyyah : Hard to hear her
09:37 zakiyyah : great
09:42 Dreamwalker : tru dat
09:43 Journey_Wmn : you’re absolutely right, because i’m hesitant to protest on saturday, because if someone tries to blame me or dare call me out my name. I’ll get arrested and I’m not hard enough to go to jail
09:43 Dreamwalker : Do you think the recent election will open a door into this topic
09:44 souloperator : Dream walker I will bring up your point
09:44 Dreamwalker : thxs
09:46 zakiyyah : Coretta Scott King had to say, in an address to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. “Homophobia is as morally wrong and as unacceptable as racism,” “We ought to extend to gay and lesbian people the same respect and dignity we claim for ourselves. Every person is a child of Go
09:46 zakiyyah : God
09:46 zakiyyah : and every human being is entitled to full human rights.”
09:48 ustreamer-73569 : how about a protest for the lgbt youth homeless
09:48 zakiyyah : Ths was beautiful–Thank you.
09:48 Dreamwalker : Alright ya’ll…cya next week
09:48 ustreamer-73569 : how about protest for low rates for colleges
09:48 ustreamer-73569 : how abut jobs
09:48 ustreamer-73569 : This is angel b
09:49 ustreamer-73569 : I tuned in late but this is great

Register your Chat Room Name at www.USTREAM.TV

Waafrika (Part 2) - An original audio play

In last week’s None on Record podcast we listened to part 1 of Nick Mwaluko’s play WAAFRIKA. We met the main character, Awino, who is sitting at her mother’s grave when her father, the village chief finds her there. Awino’s father is angry because she has gone to live with a white woman named Bobby AND there are rumors that Awino and Bobby are lovers. As you can imagine this doesn’t sit well with the chief who feels that Awino is going against tradition.

In this week’s None on Record podcast, we hear part 2 of Nick Mwaluko’s WAAFRIKA.

Listen to Part 1

WAAFRIKA is set in a Kenyan village where Awino, the favorite daughter of a local tribal chief named Odhiambo, has left her home and gone to live with Bobby, a white woman and former Peace Corps volunteer who has decided to stay on in Kenya. Bobby is an out, and outspoken, lesbian; she wants Awino to embrace her new found sexual identity with vigor and pride. But Awino knows that while Bobby is buffered from the facts of African life by her American sense of privilege, such a step is fraught with peril. Homosexuality is punishable by the death penalty.

Two women — one white, one black — fight to survive in a place where being gay is punishable by death. Written by African playwright Nick Mwaluko, Waafrika brings us into a frightening terrain giving a deeper dimension to the international struggle for lesbian and gay civil rights, as well as our world and ourselves.

WAAFRIKA

CAST OF CHARACTERS

AWINO: A Kenyan woman of extremely dark complexion; early twenties A boyish woman with a husky voice who often passes for a man. She wears army boots, men’s trousers, a man’s undershirt and a large over shirt to hide her small breasts. Her head is bald. She often wears a baseball cap.

BOBBY: A white American woman in her thirties. She is canonically attractive according to western feminine aesthetics and mannerisms. Feminine, delicate, petite, and ultra-sensitive yet tough against what she believes to be social injustice, particularly against marginalized communities.

CHIEF ODHIAMBO: A heavy-set Kenyan man in his late forties. He is stern in appearance and reverential in manner. He wears traditional clothes befitting his honored status as Chief. His clothes are brightly colored with lavish embroidery put together by fine gold thread. He walks majestically on stage with a staff-like wooden cane or walking stick in hand.

MAMA MUGABE: Chief’s second wife

MAMA OPIO: Chief’s fourth and youngest wife

Recorded in New York City

Photo Credit: Zanele Muholi
Photo Credit: Sulai Lopez (Nick Portraits)

letters@noneonrecord.com

Special Episode #50: Born Again American

To celebrate the 50th episode of the U People Podcast join Olive, Hanifah and their friends on a one day journey of a lifetime. Cameras follow them on election day 2008 from getting up to vote, talking to people on the streets, to the point of reckoning, to dancing the night away. This episode is entitled Born Again American because in the end it is the only phrase that was thought of to describe the is new time and feelings about the country we call home.

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