Nolawi wrote a piece about Munit’s video “Noro Noro” a little over a year ago. He was referring more to her style of music and how much he loved the fact that it was not synthesized, or over synthesized, like a lot of Ethiopian music nowadays.
I don’t remember how I met Munit, but I remember the first time I saw her sing. It was 6 years ago at an event organized in DC by the Ethiopian Student Association . I remember seeing this tiny woman with so much energy walking around and talking to mutual friends. Her laugh was infectious. Little did I know, she had a voice that could render a room silent. Continue reading ‘munit’
Published by beshou May 8th, 2010 in African, Bernos and Noteworthy.
Almost everyone knows what happened in the state of Arizona last week or so I presume. Gov. Jan Brewer signed a new law that makes it a crime (not illegal mind you) to be in the state of Arizona without proper documentation to prove your legal status. The entire debate is framed ridiculously, mainly concerning on the results rather than the cause. Some “nationalists” argue that the bill will help restore America’s economy, sovereignty, law and order, civil society and culture. In simple words they just want to say “reducing white dominance in this country will fundamentally change the fabric of our nation.” They are merely afraid of being Minority in the long run.
America is powerful because it has and had a generous supply of free, low paid unskilled or low skilled illegal workers. So people thinking that it will restore Americans economy are becoming victims of their own success because removing a good supply of unskilled to low skilled workers is not only anti-capitalistic but also foolish.
This also lays a perfect platform for potential harassment of people who don’t look like white Americans. Race does play a role in this debate, although the stark truth is sugarcoated to be obvious. Arizona also has a law against racial profiling. When asked how else a law enforcement officer would be able to have a reasonable suspicion to detain a person, one of the state senators actually said that you can identify illegals by their clothes and shoes etc….… I kid you not he did say that! Continue reading ‘the budding cactus’
Published by biskut April 28th, 2010 in Current Issues and Open.
When it comes to Ethiopian/Habesha mainstream musicians I’m always skeptical about the talent, or lack thereof. Yes, you can call me a harsh critic. I have my circle of friends to thank for that and who were nice enough to groom me into the music lover I am today.
Betty was introduced to you, the general public, by us through a photo shoot we did for the “Roots” tshirt. At that time, we were not aware of her musical aspirations. Fast forward a couple of years later, she’s been involved in several projects that have showcased her talent and her ability to be diverse.
Her bio states “It’s impossible to place B-Sheba in one particular category or mold. Her compositions encompass various genres and often blend several different styles.” She was involved in a group called Kaffa Beanz & featured in a score for the movie “Toe 2 Toe” . She is now working on her solo album “Hello World” and working on putting a group together with APthePrince called “TheeInCrowd (T.I.C)”. Does she ever sleep? I don’t think so. Continue reading ‘Hello World’
Published by beshou April 23rd, 2010 in Bernos, Music, Shameless Plug and Social.
Well, I wanted to say something about this for a while now, I sense I might have hinted the way I feel about the topic here and there but I wanted to tell guys what I see. But as easily as I express myself I didn’t know how to flow the words to say this without sounding like victim myself.
I for one, am prone not to be a victim per say, not because I am smarter than most but because I lack the patience of the norm.
Based on real experiences with ‘lets call them acquaintances’’ but in reality they are less than that, they are people I have seen or had very few conversations with.
There is Carrie, who is a friend, a platonic one at that. She asked me to hang out with her and her friends who I will call Deidra. Deidra gets dropped off by Jimmy in a nice BMW in front of the ‘outside table of the restaurant,’ I was sitting with Carrie.
I have known both these girls casually for a while and I could talk to them freely. I mentioned the car, and she became defensive and said
he’s not my Boy Friend!”
So we discussed it the rest of the evening. Jimmy started hanging out with Deidra casually. Then it became more consistent, she knew he was interested in her but he didn’t make a move. She was not feeling the same way, but she enjoyed his attention and company as friends.
He didn’t make it clear he wanted more than friendship thus she continued to see him. When he finally had the courage to make his motives clear, she told him honestly that she was not interested in more than friendship at this time. Continue reading ‘he's not my BF!’
Published by Nolawi April 20th, 2010 in Advice, Dating, Social and Thoughts.
I see her every morning in my commute to work. She is a pretty woman; probably in her early to mid thirties. I immediately recognize her. I know her. Not her personally, just her ‘Ethiopian-ness ‘— if there is such a word. I always smile and say hi and she does the same but we never strike up a conversation, until one day last week when she sat next to me. Like I sometimes do and like countless others have said to me before I say “Abesha nesh Aydel” she says “enem eko mesleshing neber, gin I wasn’t sure.” It’s a familiar conversation I have had it many times before.
We continued to chit chat all the way to our destination. I found out she has been married for a couple of years and she has a 9 month old son. She works in the day time from 8 – 4. Her husband takes care of their son while she is at work; she comes home around 5:30 pm.
They have about a couple of hours together and he goes off to work and comes home at around four in the morning. And they do this every weekday. They only see each other a couple of hours a day. But they are both off on the weekends. Continue reading ‘Weekend Marriage’
Published by kiki April 14th, 2010 in Dating and Family.
