"Chop my money...because I don't care"

I'm definitely not talking about my money; my wallet is on lock and chain. P-Square and Akon, however, have explicitly stated they want women spending their dinero in their new song cleverly titled "Chop My Money."

Of course, all of these guys are pretty much ballers (SURPRISE! Not everyone in Africa is poor and helpless) and they are not afraid to flaunt it...in the music video that was released today.



Even though the song's melody and chorus feel kind of average to me, the overall music is well done. Kudos! Despite all of this, I could not get past thinking of another music video starring a popular Nigerian comedian, Nkem Owoh.

Columbia College Hosts Ethiopian Coffee Ceremony

Black History Month is already in full swing with events happening everywhere. One in particular I had a chance to attend and partake in was at Columbia College Chicago, the country's largest media arts university, and also where Degrassi's Shannon Kook-Chun made his first trip to the great Midwest. Here's a look what the Columbia Chronicle (the school's award winning newspaper and currently the best weekly college paper in the state of Illinois) put together.



I touched on an Ethiopian coffee ceremony in the past, and it's a pretty ceremonious, yet non-religious and mostly cultural. The important thing is that there is evidence (maybe not concrete) that Ethiopians (yes, Africans) were the first to create and drink coffee. You know, that globally famous beverage that Starbucks made over $11 billion last year from?

Anyway, per a question I was asked earlier this week, "Why is Black History Month important?" - this is one of many reasons why. The contributions black people have made to the world is just as great as any other race, but thanks to the dominance of the West, many things about black people are unsung. This month, I hope to expose as much as I can that would make the world very different if we did not have. Seriously, imagine a world minus coffee, even if you don't drink it. The impact Starbucks has made on the world is almost as remarkable as McDonald's. The next time someone asks why Black History Month is important, refer them to this site or even tell them to go to one of my favorite news sources AfricaReview.com.

Real Housewives of Atlanta Visit South Africa

I would be the world's biggest liar if I said I didn't enjoy watching Bravo's highest rated reality TV show "Real Housewives of Atlanta." Seriously, this show never fails at having me laugh either at the silly women (which half of them are not married so I don't know what qualified them as housewives) or the downward spiral of the production value per season.

Anyway, I'm not really going to go into a full fledged analysis of the show (plenty of fan blogs do that rather well already and with Nene Leakes's celebrity status growing, the analyses will not cease anytime soon), but I would like to delve into the most recent episode when the women minus Kim Zolciak plus Marlo Hampton began their ten day excursion in South Africa (or Africa, as they incessantly address as if South Africa represents the ENTIRE continent of 53 countries and 3,000 languages). This excursion is good for African-Americans who have never been outside of the United States before and more so because it's a visit to an African nation. It shows that despite the stories of poverty and disease that seem to almost always come out of Africa (despite this being only one sided) there's also a lot of wealth and prosperity. I stated a while back the value of going abroad, no matter where it is, and the best part is one of the best ways to be educated about the world around you and to better understand your own culture. But this trip for the housewives was not for education - this was for laughs and "good TV."

What's vexes me more than the fact that some of these women are ignorant (Nene) or pretentious (Phaedra) is who REALLY arranged this - and I am sure that Phaedra only brought up the idea, even if she did. All this modern day buffoonery falls into the hands of their executive producer, Vice President of Bravo, Andy Cohen. He probably didn't say "Let's put these animals in their natural habitat" but, like they say, actions speak louder than words.

All the fans know that these women have had a lot of tension since the middle of the previous season and more tension was piled on with the arrival of the guest housewife (who'll probably replace Kim), Marlo. There was bound to be a fight somewhere (and as many are learning about reality TV, producers tend to orchestrate how things will progress) and the animalistic mudslinging between Marlo and Sheree, heightened with strange and eerily exotic noises, is probably just a small glimpse of what is bound to happen next.

We're entering Black History Month and what we have to show for black people again perpetuate black caricatures. This time, they are that of the 21st century. But like in the past, a white man has capitalized on exploiting black caricatures and all Americans have accepted it as okay. And I do not care that Andy Cohen is gay and Jewish. Being a minority in the US and capitalizing on the caricature of another minority does not make it excusable. This episode clearly was an example modern day blackface.

Am I going to keep watching this show. Of course. Should I? Yes. Any medium is worth reading, watching or hearing because it's someone else's viewpoint, even if you disagree with it. In fact, if you do disagree with it, then you have more information to back up your own opinion. Being well informed is the key to success in an ever-shrinking global world. Plus, there's something oddly refreshing about mindless TV after a thought provoking work week.