Week of 12th November: New stockist, Live Afrobeat, networking, Banking careers, books and stuff

Hello my lovelies,

My body is adjusting to the cold helped along by all these awesome African events and lots of grooviness, this week Proud to be African Clothing attended kora Master Kora Griot Seckou  only London performance courtesy of Afri-Kokoa. The packed house was warmed up by Afri-Kokoa DJ AJ Kwame, until the kora master came on stage with his 7 piece band and 2 lovely singers performed tracks from his new album Miro. The grooved and grooved till midnight. Its always heartening to see traditional African music celebrated (even more when people do it wearing Proud to be African T shirts!!)

The other great news is that we have added another stockist to our list, Vou Brown, 74 Willesden Lane, Kilburn NW6 7TA. This style focussed multi brand fashion boutique that blends afro chic with contemporary Africa, CEO Liza and style consultant Leigh are ever knowledgeable and helpful. 

You can get our hoodys, T shirts, and children’s clothes there; opening hours are Monday to Wednesday and Fridays 10.00am to 6.00pm, on Thursday’s and Saturday 11.00am to 7.00pm.

This is a super cool shop, well worth a visit! 

Monday 12^th November

At 6.00pm we have The Politics of Land in Contemporary Africa at the London School of Economics, Room TW1 G.01, Tower 1, LSE, Houghton Street, WC2A 2AE, two experts Professors Sam Moyo and Catherine Boone will address the questions of how African governments can manage the politics of land tenure. This is a FREE event. More information here 

From 6.30pm to 9.30pm we have the documentary Sweet Crude at PCS Headquarters, 160 Falcon Road, Clapham Junction, SW11 2LN. This documentary is about the oil industry in the Niger Delta,   admission is £5.00 (children under 16 FREE)

Tuesday 13^th November

At 6.00pm we have Malian blues singer Sidi Toure at Momo, 25 Heddon Street, W1B 4BH, mixing the traditional and the contemporary in this uplifting show. Tickets are £10.00 book by email or phone 07814552 991 or on the website  

At 6.30pm at the Staff Restaurant, British Library, 96 Euston Road, St Pancras, NW1 2DB we have Myths and Realities 15: Our ethnicity and identity-what does it all mean? Which examines significant social issues in this case whether the public’s celebration of the diverse members of Team GB marks a significant shift in public perceptions of ethnicity, chaired by Rania Hafez, speakers include Ann Phoenix and Miri Song. Tickets are £7.50 (£5.00 concs) from here. 

At 7.30pm we have Shabaka Hutchings and the BBC Concert Orchestra at the Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX, this is a one off Radio 3 commission which sees saxophonist and composer Shabaka Hutchings joining the BBC Concert Orchestra and his band Sons of Kemet, consisting of tuba player Oren Marshall, Tom Skinner and Seb Rochford on drums, along with beatboxer Jason Singh and Leafcuttert John for an amalgamation of jazz, minimalist classical music and electronic. Tickets are £15.00 / £12.00 from here 

Wednesday 14^th November

ACS in the City returns at 12.00pm with the Banking Career Forum at 8 Northumberland Avenue, WC2N 5BY, this careers networking event will bring together African/ Caribbean  students interested in a career in finance and banking with professionals from institutions such as Barclays, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and JP Morgan. Learn more and register here for this FREE event. Travel may be reimbursed for students travelling from outside London.

At 7.00pm we have a super cool funky treat with the Antibalas at Islington Assembly Hall, Upper Street, Islington, N1 2UD. Antibalas (which means bullet proof in Spanish) is a Brooklyn, New York  based Afrobeat, who have taken the funky horns and deep base of Afrobeat and mixed it with their Latin beats to create a very unique Afrobeat/ Afro latin/ super groovy sound, with socially relevant narratives and lyrics, supported by Ariya Astrobeat Arkestra and DJ Gilla, Tickets are £20.00- £25.00 from here. This is their only London show so everyone say Yeah Yeah and get on down!

Thursday 15^th November

At 7.30pm we have brilliant Malian songstress Fatoumata Diawara at the Village Underground, 54 Holywell Lane, Shoreditch, EC2A 3PQ performing tracks from her album ‘Fatou’, this combination of jazz, funk and traditional Malian music. Tickets are £15.40 from here.

Friday 16^th November

At 2.00pm we have the book launch of the new book The Motherland Calls-Britain's Black Servicemen and Women 1939-45 by Stephen Bourne at the BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank, SE1 8XT. There will be screenings of two BBC programmes about black veterans (Here Say and Reunion), book signings and a few surprises. Free admission for over 60’s £5.00 for all others.

From 6.00pm to 9.00pm we have the YBS Talks Business and Entrepreneurship Talking Business event at the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust, 39 Brookmill Road, Deptford, SE8 4HU, where you can get vital tips in Strategic planning, networking, marketing, business development, social enterprise, personal branding and team building and more. Speakers include Ronke Lawal (Islington Chamber of Commerce), Ketan Makwana (Youth Enterprise Live), Sabian Muhammed (Enterprise LAB), Junior Ogunyemi (Author), Opy Onas (Author), Dwain Reid (Business mentor) and many more. Early bird tickets are £3.00, standard £6.00 from here or email for more details 

From 6.00pm to 8.00pm we have Divas on Demand, at the Museum of London, 150 London Wall, St Pauls, EC2Y 5HN, this networking event will unite likeminded ladies to provide a platform for those who want to expand and explore. RSVP this FREE event here.

At 7.30pm at the Albany, Douglas Way, Deptford, SE8 4AG, we have jazz and hip hop artist Soweto Kinch playing from his Dante inspired studio album, ‘The Legend of Mike Smith’ in collaboration with dancer and choreographer Jonzi D, doing battle with The Seven Deadly Sins in this fusion of live music, dance, theatre and visuals. Tickets are £12.00-£14.00 from here 

At 12.00am (midnight) we have Senegalese dub/ funk group Fofoulah and DJ Kevin Le Gendre for a London Jazz Festival After show late hang out at the Vortex Jazz Club 11 Gillett Square, Dalston, N16 8AZ, running till 4.00am this is a FREE event

Saturday 17^th November  

From 11.00am to 2.00pm the 100 Black Men of London will be holding their West London Community Mentoring Programme Open Day at Ealing, Hammersmith and West London College, Gliddon Road, Barons Court, W14 9BL where you can learn more about this worthy groups’ community mentoring programme (there are North, South, East and West London branches), register your children (ages 10-16) for the Me I can Be mentoring programme which deals with life skills with modules on self identity, effective expression, family roles and responsibilities, peer relations, health and well being, drugs and substance abuse and much more. Adults can sign up to the Parents in Partnership programme which demonstrates how we can make a positive impact on the lives of our children by helping them develop into positive role models and leaders of the future. Since the programme began in 2001 hundreds of children have graduated and been positively impacted. Please RSVP for this FREE and very worthwhile event here or email for more details

From 12.00pm to 5.30pm we have the second Black Book Swap at Cottons, 70 Exmouth Market, Farringdon, EC1R 4QP, where you can swap books and meet authors such as Dorothy Koomson (Rose Petal Beach), DD Armstrong (Lynch’s Road), Courttia Newland (The Gospel according to Cane), Noo Saro Wiwa (Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria), Andrea Stuart (Sugar in the Blood) and Jenny Garrett (Rocking your role). There will be a large selection of books to swap or buy so bring along books you’re willing to part with. Tickets are £5.00 from here

At 7.30pm at the Albany, Douglas Way, Deptford, SE8 4AG, we have jazz and hip hop artist Soweto Kinch playing from his Dante inspired studio album, ‘The Legend of Mike Smith’ in collaboration with dancer and choreographer Jonzi D, doing battle with The Seven Deadly Sins in this fusion of live music, dance, theatre and visuals. Tickets are £12.00-£14.00 from here

At 8.00pm we have Seeds of Creation at Spice of Life, 6 Moor Street, W1D 5NA this 6 piece band led by Sweddik Zebiri has its roots in Algeria and fuses Arabic and Afro Blues traditions to create a compulsive danceable sound, tickets are £10.00 (£8.00 concs) from here

Also at 8.00pm we have the Bukky Leo and The Black Egypt Album Launch at the Hackney Attic, 270 Mare street, Hackney, E8 1HE. After the Afrobeat saxophonists live performance Chief Commander Yaaba of Yaaba Funk will be taking to the decks till 1.00am. Admission is £6.00 (£5.00 concs, £4.00 members)

Sunday 18^th November

Proud to be Zimbabwean

From 2.00pm to 6.00pm our friends at Mwalimu Express return to Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, Shoreditch, E1 6LA taking us to Harare, Zimbabwe this time, with Mbira Kuwirirana featuring Taku Mukiwa on Mbira with Fungai Gahadzikwa also on mbira and Otto Gumaelius on marimba and percussion. The session finishes up with clips from current Southern African cinema

At 5.00pm we have Black Bodies in White Spaces at Room B36, Birkbeck, University of London, Malet Street, WC1E 7HX explore how African Descendants across the diaspora use dance to celebrate their African beauty and heritage. There will be a screening of films ‘Temporary Sanity: The Skerrit Boy Story’ about Jamaican dance culture in New York and ‘Ebony Goddess: Queen of Ile Aiye’ about Brazilian women resisting European beauty standards with dance and a talk by Nathalie Montlouis who will explore the perception of African/Caribbean traditional and modern dance. RSVP for this FREE event here.  

At 7.00pm we have Mulatu Astatke and Criolo at London Koko, 1a Camden High Street, Camden, NW1 7JE. Known as the father of Ethio-jazz, this is a blend of Ethiopian music, Latin rythyms, Carribean reggae and Afro-funk, supported by Brazilian rapper and urban poet Criolo with music from his latest album. Tickets are £22.50 from here