South Africa is a small, ordinary country. But it is also an exceptional country. Not different per se, but it gets your head scratching. That means a lot of attention in the Western media. The attention is a combination of a lot of things together: first, it is a function of the country’s violent history, i.e. brutal repression of the majority of its citizens by a racial dictatorship (kinda like Pinochet’s Chile with popular support) that only came to a formal end almost two decades ago; the extent and deep-rootedness of industrial capitalism (the country is highly urbanized and has probably the largest organized working classes in Africa); the size of its economy relative to other countries on the continent as well as the aggressive way after Apartheid with which its leaders and elites have sought to carve out a dominant place for themselves on the continent (whether it be offering half-baked ideas about continental rebirth, more seriously as “peacekeepers,” as economic colonizers or supplying television services to the rest of the continent, among others). South Africa also the country that some in the West consider a real-world laboratory for the way we deal with “race” (in this regard take for example, the insight of the cultural historian Paul Gilroy. Gilroy, on at the tenth anniversary of South African democracy in 2004, remarked that “… critical consideration of South Africa’s democratic transition can inspire new responses to the current geo-political situation.”
Okay I’ll stop there before I sound to serious. But you get the point.
So this site then is mainly about Western media references to events and happenings in South Africa. The topics I care about are my personal obsessions: films, music, art, books, politics, sports. Because of the way the Southern African region is integrated (with South Africa acting like the regional hegemon), where necessary Botswana (it hardly gets any Western coverage), Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia will also be included. A lot of capable bloggers cover West Africa (especially Nigeria), East Africa (Kenya especially) and North Africa, so I’ll stay out of there, but will offer occasional rants about Western media coverage of those regions. Hope that makes sense.
At the same the site will also go on occasionally about my experiences as an African immigrant living in New York City (and Ann Arbor) with my wife and daughter.
Now for some free advertising while I am at it: My writing has appeared in The Nation, Monthly Review Online, Africa Confidential, and the UK Guardian.
I am not sure where this fits in, but I worship at the church of Abdullah Ibrahim (despite his participation in the “Alive with Possiblity” TV advert) and The Legendary Roots Crew (I will defend every album) for a while now.
Finally, what’s wit the URL? I use to call the site by that name. Who is Leo Africanus? Here’s a quick summary of his what he was about (in a book review of Natalie Zemon Davis’ narrative about his life). — Sean Jacobs
11 responses so far ↓
Tertius Kapp // February 13, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Hi Sean
I saw a link to a story I wrote on your blog!! (The tribute to Mr Fat).
We’re currently working on a documentary on Afrikaans music here, and obviously there’s a section on the legacy of BVK and POC. Your blog came up on my research. Quite interesting phenomenon, Afrikaans hip hop. Unfortunately it’s kind of quietened down a bit now, with some promise in the form of new stars like Jits Vinge.
Anyways, just wanted to say hi.
Tertius
Sophie Pilgrim // February 28, 2008 at 12:09 pm
We’d be really interested in getting your opinion on the above post (http://observers.france24.com/en). I really enjoyed reading your post (as a journalist myself), and would appreciate some feedback.
In fact you seem like a good contact for the site in general. Let me know if you’re interested in getting involved.
Best,
Sophie
bibomedia // February 29, 2008 at 11:15 am
Emerald Islander // April 8, 2008 at 10:47 pm
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wayneandwax.com » links for 2008-05-24 // May 23, 2008 at 8:32 pm
[...] About « Africa is a Country “…partly about my personal obsessions (the films, music, art, books, politics about Africa …), analysis of … media coverage of the continent and its people in Western (mainly United States) media, and my experiences as an African immigrant in NYC..” (tags: blog africa newyork politics politricks media analysis culture) [...]
koos de kock // July 3, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Great Blog Sean,been looking for something like this for a while and got lost for a good couple of hours trawling your blog.Somewhere we are still in need of a serious blog/site on our kind of jazz. Greentings Samboerou
Jazz Club Argentina // July 11, 2008 at 7:48 am
Grateful for reaching your blog! I work in south american jazz and african roots here. I would like to listen to more african jazz. What can you recommend to me? BC
Sean // July 11, 2008 at 1:01 pm
Jazz Club Argentina,
I have a South African bias so most of the recommendations will be from there. I also like piano music. It also depends on how you define jazz (Fela is not jazz, but Hugh Masekela who composed a number of Fela-influenced tunes like “Lady” is considered jazz. The South African may also have to do with the fact that SA does have a market, although small, for jazz (its Cape Town International Jazz Festival is still big on the jazz calender). So here goes my suggestions:
1. The best jazz from Africa is definitely the catalogue of Abdullah Ibrahim, known as Dollar Brand before he converted to Islam while living in NYC. This is a man who played with Duke Ellington’s orchestra. Everything by him is useful. His full catalogue can be viewed on his website: http://www.abdullahibrahim.com, but I would recommend the albums “Mannenberg Is Where it’s Happening,”. “Mantra Mode,” “Africans in Space,” “Cape Town Revisited,” “Water from Ancient Well,” “Mindif,” and of course his collaboration with Max Roach: “Stream of Consciousness.”
The soundtrack albums he did with Claire Denis (for Chocolat etc) are also good. So is his later orchestral work, with the most representative: “Ekapa Ledumo” and “African Symphony.”
2. Bheki Mseleku — Durban-born, based in London for a while, piano and sax player. best album “Celebration.”
3. Hotep Galeta. piano. studied and played with Jackie McClain From Cape Town. I like his album “Malay Tone Poem.”
4. Hugh Masekela of course. Exuberant music bordering on pop. Good live band. His 1970s stuff is the best. “The Boys are doing it” and the stuff off his Chisa label.
5. Sathima Bea Benjamin. Born in Cape Town (also Mrs Abdullah Ibrahim and mother to Tsidi Ibrahim/Jean Grae. Lives in NYC. She is still recording, but nothing will live up to her 1960s recording “Morning in Paris” recorded with Duke Ellington (great story behind that album; just google it).
6. Kippie Moeketsi, a sax player who died in the 1970s but played together with Ibrahim and Masekela on the album “Jazz Epistles: Verse One” . You can also hear him on the South African musical “King Kong” soundtrack (nothing to do with the US story).
7. Winston Mankunku who made “Yakhal Inkomo” in the early 1960s.
8. Brotherhood of Breath and individually the musicians who came out of that: Chris McGregor, Mongezi Feza, Dudu Pukwana, Johnny Dyani (check out the albums “Witchdoctor’s Son” and “Song for Biko”, the latter with Don Cherry).
9. Of the younger players, a few stand out: Moses Molelekwa who sadly committed suicide in 2001 (best “Live at the Fin de siecle, Nantes” recorded in 1997), Andile Yenana (first album, “We Used to Dance”
and Marcus Wyatt (”Africans in Space”). There’s not been much fresh jazz music lately, as I discover on my more recent travels to SA.
10.
Jazz Club Argentina // July 13, 2008 at 11:34 am
THANK YOU!!! SEAN
I’ll keep your response…. Oh, there is so much to listen, how beutiful!
Of course you come from SA, I’m specially interested in there, ’cause I’m writing a thesis about the afro thing in our jazz related to afro modernity. There is here a hole movement today in revalorizing african roots in argentine culture, so they were denied and unseen for centurys.
Most of our african antecesors came from your land.
Thank you again, and excuse my bad english.
Berenice.
PD: I really love “Streams of…”
Carly // July 24, 2008 at 2:26 pm
Hi There,
I saw your posts on Zimbabwe at. It’s great to see that situation getting coverage in the blogosphere.
Last summer Nelson Mandela brought a group of really dedicated individuals together - ex heads of state and Nobel laureates - to work on solving global issues. His hope for the new group, The Elders, is for them to “speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken”. They’re working on the crisis in Zimbabwe now, and they want your help.
There are so many issues in dire need of attention right now, but human rights ties them all together. The Elders launched the Every Human Has Rights campaign to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and celebrate human rights as that common thread that weaves our struggles and our victories together.
We’re asking the blogosphere to take part. Would you be willing to add a link from your page to the Every Human Has Rights website? We also have badges and flash widgets so bloggers can show support for the campaign.
We’re trying to get as many people as possible to sign a personal pledge to uphold the principles of the Universal Declaration. We have action partners to help people get more involved. We have tools so people can bring the ‘rights perspective’ to their own organization’s events. We’re doing everything we can to bring people together to stand up for human rights.
We need bloggers. We need you. Please join our effort.
All the best,
Carly Scott
Every Human Has Rights,
campaign team
http://www.everyhumanhasrights.org
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