Political hopefuls who once courted rappers, before suddenly realizing that “filthy rap lyrics” are the leading cause of all problems in society, are now calling for hip-hop’s head on a platter.
Ignoring the larger issue at hand, the role played by corporate sponsors who make huge dividends from derogatory rap songs and the [...]
Archive for the 'Music' Category
The Life and Times of Menelik Wossenachew
December 24, 2009 marked the one year anniversary of the passing of the wonderful, incredibly talented singer, music writer and lyricist, Menelik Wossenachew. Below is a piece I wrote for Horizon Ethiopia’s November issue.
What makes one artist a legend and another with equal or more talent obscure? That [...]
In recent years I have been bewildered by the route Ethiopian music has taken. There have been a few bright lights here and there but those are the exception to the rule. The rule has been to market over produced and over synthesized music. And then, I came across Tommy T’s (Thomas [...]
Published by November 10th, 2009 in African, Music, Podcast and Shameless Plug.At a New York tribute for the late great Miriam Makeba, I was lucky enough to be sitting in close proximity to my personal old man crush, Mr. Harry Belafonte (he may be old but he’s still hot) when this new artist hit the stage and performed one of my favorite Makeba hits, “Soweto Blues” [...]
Published by October 22nd, 2009 in African, Music, Personal and Podcast.Every year around this time we, at bernos, begin losing our minds, in a good way.
We start brainstorming on new shirts, Nolawi starts designing and the feedback process is never ending. We have to choose the color scheme, how much inventory we have to get, how many designs we should do for our [...]