Mzansi Afrika

Charlize, Kanye and GLAAD

Actress Charlize Theron has been honoured for increasing "visibility and understanding" in the gay community. The star was presented with the Vanguard Award at the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation's (GLAAD) annual media awards in Los Angeles [Source].

Sisters Talk wonders why the award didn't go to Kanye West, fair question to which I have no response. I do not know the criteria used by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in choosing who the prize goes to. Theron said on television that she "would not wed boyfriend Stuart Townsend until gay marriage is legally recognised in the US." West says that "hip-hop was always about 'speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people. Not just hip-hop, but America just discriminates'."

Madonna kiss vs. Janet Jackson breast

According to Powell, Justin Timberlake's exposure of Janet Jackson's right breast during the closing moments of the halftime show "wasn't even the most offensive part." Powell claims that "the whole performance was onstage copulation." Onstage copulation? Isn't that the definition of "music video?" Apparently Mr. Powell is unfamiliar with most of the MTV oeuvre. Was the halftime show unsuitable for the millions of small children watching? Sure. But so are half the shows on prime-time television. And more importantly, the First Amendment provides that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech." How, then, can the FCC impose fines on the halftime performers and broadcasters, as it has threatened to do? The late Justice Hugo Black, who fashioned himself a First Amendment absolutist, liked to dismiss arguments for censorship by waving the Constitution and exclaiming that "'no law' means no law." But his brethren did not agree, and so, notwithstanding the First Amendment, Jackson, Timberlake and the broadcasters may indeed find themselves in hot water.
[Read on]  

Jackson. That name again. But let me roll back a bit. I was preparing a course on harassment the other day, when I came across an article talking about the Janet Jackson/Justin Timberlake incident. During the Superbowl's half-time events, Timberlake had ripped off Jackson's bustier toward the end of their raunchy number, revealing her right breast. This BBC article further tells us that 

During the half-time show, Timberlake reached out and grabbed at Jackson's leather bustier, forcing her to cover herself up* before the stage lights were quickly dimmed*. CBS said officials had watched rehearsals and had no indication of the nature of the performance during the half-time show. And NFL officials were also angry at what had happened during the broadcast, watched by millions of families.*  

The course I was preparing was going to be about harassment and America's First Amendment. I decided to use the article as an additional angle, a different way of looking at how the First Amendment considers harassment. For example, don't other laws duct-tape the mouth of the harasser, thereby denying him or her their right to free expression? Nevertheless, I went digging for more material. I stumbled onto the Madonna/Britney/Christina tongue kiss performance of "Like a Virgin." Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were dressed in white, "like virgins," while Madonna was dressed in black leather. The latter first gave Britney Spears an open-mouth kiss, then gave same to Christina Aguilera. An excerpt from CBS News says, 

Twenty years after the first MTV Video Music Awards, and not much has changed — Madonna still makes jaws drop and cheeks blush. Just like her first time, the superstar upstaged everyone at the 20th annual MTV Video Music Awards, only she had help Thursday night from the latest generation of video divas, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Proving they've come a long way from their Mouseketeer days, the young pop tarts gave a gyrating, writhing tribute to Madonna to open the show. Dressed in the same kind of white bustier wedding dress Madonna wore while performing "Like a Virgin" during MTV's inaugural awards broadcast in 1984, Spears and Aguilera sang a cover of the not-so-innocent tune. Then, while Madonna sang her new "Hollywood" in a masculine, all-black groom's outfit*, she shared an openmouthed kiss with both Aguilera and Spears*. The two smooches rivaled the Michael Jackson/Lisa Marie Presley kiss at the awards in 1994 on the shock meter.
[Read on]  

I have not seen the Michael Jackson/Lisa Marie Presley kiss, but I wonder what it was like, for it to reach such heights on the shock meter. It is of course clearer than a bell to me why the three-girl kiss went up the same meter. The same goes for Janet Jackson's peek-a-boob. USA Today, among others, says that 

It was the climax of an opening number that began with Spears and Aguilera, both in bridal attire, crooning 'Like a Virgin,' the hit performed by Madonna at the first VMAs. But it was ultimately stolen by Madonna herself, by comparison a model of old-school glamour and class*, even in a modified groom's outfit that made her resemble a well-heeled dominatrix.
[Read on]  

I discovered with stupor that there actually weren't that many journalists who had written articles to the effect that it is bad to have three girls tongue-kissing on a show that is more than mainly for kids. Two girls is bad, too. A boy and a girl isn't all that great, either. On the other hand, there are quite a few articles that trash Janet's peek-a-boob, although we learn that it wasn't rehearsed and that she immediately covered it and that the cameras immediately zoomed onto something else. Is it the Jackson name, or is it the racist issue? The white trio of girl/girl/girl is actually praised in many of the articles, while the mixed-colour duo of boy/girl is heavily trashed, and required to apologise, and to pay a fine. Don't take my word for it. Read a few of the articles yourself.

On The Trio:

• MADONNA and Britney Spears stole the show at the MTV Video Music Awards when they shared an open-mouthed kiss on stage.
• Spears said she was surprised that the lip-lock garnered so much buzz -- and that the moment was more than a quick peck.
• But the trio did have a surprise in store. Madonna had come as the man—the sugar daddy, maybe, twirling the little girls, keeping them in line, and finally kissing Spears. She also kissed Aguilera, to be fair, but the camera barely registered it, and we all know that Madonna has long leered at Britney. Britney swooned into the kiss, her mouth soft.
• "I find it hornier looking at women then [sic] men. Sorry, I love experimenting with my sexuality. If that means girls then so be it. "I'd kiss a girl again. The Madonna thing was a one-off but girls are nice to kiss -- nice and soft. I was up for kissing Britney but Britney wasn't." Christina also admitted: "I have casual sex, I love casual sex. But that doesn't mean I'm incapable of keeping my legs together."
• The kiss proved to be a real showstopper in last month's awards ceremony, with 21-year-old Spears' former boyfriend Justin Timberlake watching dumbfounded from the audience.
• A gum-smacking Britney Spears told CNN Wednesday that she has never before kissed a woman and never would again -- unless the woman is Madonna. The pop star exchanged a prolonged, open-mouth kiss* with the Material Girl during MTV's Music Video Awards show last week.
• Who's the better kisser? Madonna or actor Colin Farrell? "Oh my gosh!" Spears exclaimed. "They're both amazing kissers!"

On The Duo:

• Powell said he was watching the game Sunday evening with his two children and found the incident "outrageous." I knew immediately it would cause great outrage among the American people, which it did," [Powell] said, citing "thousands" of complaints received by Monday morning. "We have a very angry public on our hands.
• CBS, MTV, the NFL, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake all say they're sorry -- but none of that is deterring the federal government from looking into the Super Bowl's too-revealing halftime show.
• "I am outraged at what I saw during the halftime show of the Super Bowl," Federal Communications Commission chief Michael Powell--son of Secretary of State Colin Powell--said in a statement issued on Monday (2/2). "Like millions of Americans, my family and I were gathered around the television for a celebration. Instead, that celebration was tainted by a classless, crass and deplorable stunt."
• Most Americans think the exposure of Janet Jackson's right breast during the Super Bowl halftime show was crass, but few believe it's a federal case.
• Justin Timberlake has apologised after ripping off Janet Jackson's top and exposing her right breast at the end of her live Super Bowl half time performance.
• Janet Jackson's boobylicious performance with Justin Timberlake     at the Super Bowl halftime show has sparked a federal investigation and set new standards for raunch in an entertainment industry that seems to be setting new highs -- or lows every day.
• Jackson later admitted the stunt was devised beforehand, but "went further than she planned". According to her spokeswoman, a red lace bra was supposed to remain when Timberlake tore off the outer covering. Timberlake blamed the incident on a "wardrobe malfunction".

* The italics and the asterisks are mine, and serve to bring out what I find controversial, telling or important toward a better understanding of the discrepancy I find in these two similar yet so very different issues.

Freedom is indeed an elusive concept,and one that is also hard to describe. I think that every man and woman who is truly free feels it, feels the liberty, and the one who is not free also feels the non-liberty, so to speak. It is describing it that is hard.

One can make a list of little freedoms to describe the parent concept, but there's always that grey area. It is one of the reasons the subject of the American First Amendment vs. Harassment intrigued me, and got me on the Internet doing research. In the particular cases of the Trio and Duo, is the former not freer than the latter? Why are so many people gunning for the man/woman duo who showed a girl's breast, and bravoing the woman/woman/woman trio who tongue-kissed?

Is it just possible that if Justine, who is white, had ripped a white woman's bra off, the uproar would have been much less, or inexistant? Or is the discrepancy due to gender? Three women doing things on stage in front of millions are appreciated mainly by men, while a man/woman couple doing things on stage is not for the exclusive enjoyment of men. Since men run most all institutions...

(NB: This article was written a short while after the events took place, and updated on 3 April 2006.)

Music in the blood (Part 2)

This is the continuation of a previous post which began, "I've often heard, as I'm sure you have, that black people have 'music in their blood.' The idea is that they sing more often, sing better, listen to music more often, and jive better. The inevitable question arises, they do these things more often, and better, than who? If it is indeed the case, how and why is it so? And while we're at it, exactly what kind of music are we talking about? Does the saying hold true with reference to both hard-metal rock and hip-hop?" 

Naturally, the environment becomes a communal and family-inspired teacher. The United States Census Bureau tells us that there are 211,460,626 Americans of European origin and 34,658,190 Americans of African origin. A rough round-up yields 212 million European-Americans and 35 million African-Americans, or one black person for every six white people. But look at most general music charts of any period, and the ratio turns on its head. There are about 6 black artists to 1 white artist. Remain convinced with me, however, that what these statistics teach us is only that black people "do" more music than their white counterparts. The same is true for basketball, which African-Americans have in their blood, too. On the other hand, who couldn't say as much for ice-skating, or golf, or cricket, or classical music, all of which are "done" more by white folks? We can go ahead and coin it: white people have skiing in their blood. Given what we've been saying, nothing would be more normal. 

Another lesson we learn from this is that colour is more important than we dare admit. Our customs and mores   actually depend on colour, and there are few exceptions to the rule. At my alma mater, in America's deep south, each weekend party was dee-jayed by black students. They played dance music, funk and pre-modern rap material, as well as classic soul. One day some white students went to the Dean and complained that they wanted to dee-jay half the time, to play music that made them dance. The Dean acquiesced and and those students got to play rock. But one wonders why black students were the "logical" choice for dee-jays in the first place. I must add that they were also more natural, communicating with the throng and having a better feel for its mood (Everybody say ho! ho! All the ladies in the house say Oooow! Now somebody screeeeeam!). They sometimes reminded me of the African teaser-response style of singing.

They were more natural as dee-jays because it was something they'd done or seen done often. Practice makes perfect. They were in their element as much as anyone else doing what they control would be, as comfortable as inhabitants of the Appalachians square dancing. The varsity dee-jays happened to be black because in America colour tells us who we are. Central to that student confrontation was colour. In the long run, the kind of music one inherently prefers to dance to mattered but little.

Conventional wisdom holds that black folks originated many of the following, and there's no grounds to doubt that. For reasons that are slowly becoming evident as we advance, black people are, indeed, prolific when it comes to music. But so are white people, when life calls for it. Look at number four below to see what I mean. I've dug up a reference where possible, and of course these are in no particular order.   

   
1. Blues, Jazz and Gospel. "From blues music came great artists, such as Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Bessie Smith, and others. But the blues might never have been created if it had not been for the influence of hollers, calls, and the changes that occurred in the lives of blacks. The evolution of the blues provides insight into the changes that took place in the lives of African Americans after slavery ended [Source]."   
2. R&B, Rock & Roll, Reggae and others. Apparently the "first rock and roll record, Ike Turner's Rocket 88, [was] released" in 1951, three years after "John Lee Hooker [recorded] Boogie Chillen' for Modern Records, a single, which topped the R&B charts," and a year before Little Richard's first record was released [Source].       
3. Break-dancing, hip-hop, rap and their derivatives (eg beat-matching, turntablism, dee-jaying, and South Africa's own Kwaito). "The roots of hip-hop music are in West-African and African-American music. Discussion of the roots of hip-hop (and rap) must mention the contributions of griots The Last Poets and Jalal Mansur Nuriddin, whose jazzy and poetic 'spiels' commented on 1960's culture. Hip-hop arose during the 1970s when block parties became common in New York City, especially in the Bronx. Block parties were usually accompanied by music, especially funk and soul music [Source]."       
4. Country and Western Music. "Country music has its beginnings in music styles brought over by the first European settlers. In medieval times, storytelling was a tradition that allowed history to be recorded when few were able to read and write. When the first British settlers came to America, they brought this tradition with them, along with songs they had learned in Europe. The people who settled in the Appalachian mountains and the West did not have an easy life and their music gave them an outlet to express their hardships [Source]." 

Why were the above-mentioned black students the "logical" choice for dee-jays? The answer is simple. Because that's what they're good at, and everybody knows that. If you were shown a photo of a black dee-jay and another of a white dee-jay, you already think you know what kind of music they'd play, don't you? A university bash is an event where students get together to drink and dance and have fun. They want to hear "Now somebody screeeeam!" to the background of a warm, thumping guitar string, a mature rhythm, berserk dancing, the whole culture of dance and hip-hop and using music to do what a bash is all about in the first place: having a ball. I realise that a lot of this has to do with packaging. Many of us buy Coke® more for the prestige that goes with its image, it's renown, its packaging, than for its taste. In other words, Coke® sells more than Pepsi®. Yet in blind taste tests Pepsi® beats its opponent flat out. But if you remember, when the latter was working on its image of a new generation, the gap was narrower.

Music in the blood (Part 1)

I've often heard, as I'm sure you have, that black people have "music in their blood." The idea is that they sing more often, sing better, listen to music more often, and jive better. The natural question arises, they do these things more often, and better, than who? If it is indeed the case, how and why is it so? And while we're at it, exactly what kind of music are we talking about? Does the saying hold true with reference to both hard-metal rock and hip-hop?

Mind you, I'm not interested in whether or not non-black people can or cannot sing and dance. I'm interested in finding out whether black people can, and if so, why? After all, the saying does refer to black people having music in their blood. So what conditions would favour such an ability? If non-blacks underwent the same conditions, could they too sing and dance (well)? In reality, do such conditions exist more for blacks and less for non-blacks?

The Center for Music Therapy Philosophy says that, "Music influences human behavior by affecting the brain and subsequently other bodily structures in ways that are observable, identifiable, measurable, and predictable, thereby providing the necessary foundation for therapeutic applications [Source]." For instance we know that

   
1. In South Africa, black people sing and dance at (politically sensitive) funerals. You may have actually witnessed this on the telly, whenever a prominent South African politician is laid to rest (Steve Biko, for example). But they also belt out songs at political rallies, using the question and response style in which the lead singer sings a teaser, and the rest grab it. If you've ever listened to Ladysmith Black Mambazo you know the style I'm referring to;
   
2. In southern Africa and elsewhere, workers sing or chant to coordinate effort and thus improve the yield. I was about twelve or so when I attended my first letsema (or communal labour), which means people helping each other out to get the job done faster. A house to build? The community pitches in. Harvest in? The community comes over to help. You provide the food and the beer. My first letsema concerned threshing sorghum. All the men, each with a knob-kerrie, gathered round the harvest. Chanting and singing in unison, we raised our knob-kerries to the rhythm of the chant and brought them crashing onto the plants, before raising them again to carry out the movement anew;
   
3. Musicians played an important role as griots and historians in 10th-20th century kingdoms in different parts of Africa. In Lesotho that job belongs more to poets than to anybody else. But of course there's a lot of music in poetry. The performer may or may not scribble reminders (dates, order of events, names, etc) somewhere on their hand. They use the same poetic techniques as other poets: alliteration, consonance, stress, intonation and rhyme, and may go on for quite some time, praising a warrior, a king, a clan or themselves;
   
4. In southern Africa, shepherds sometimes use flutes and other musical instruments to control the movement of cattle. I was a shepherd once, and I remain grateful for it. I learned how to stick-fight, for one, and I learned what wild roots to eat. Stick-fighting (lekallo) involves a lot of moves that are tantamount to dancing, as the fighters circle each other, or thrust stylishly, or block in a certain, imposing way. To see what I mean, think of the dance moves inherent in capoeira, or even in bull-fighting. Herd-people also play very simple musical instruments, like the lekolulo (Sotho flute), composed of a stick, a cord and a reed;
   
5. An African's life span is marked with musical events, from lullabies through play songs, initiation rite songs, weddings, to funerals. Every wedding in Lesotho sees two competing choirs, one from each of the partner's village. They actually wear distinguishing uniforms and just raise hell and dust to sing the other side down. [Some of the above comes from MSN Encarta]
 

Music, then, is serious matter in Africa. By extension, it is also serious matter to African-Americans, whose fore-parents brought it over as slaves, and maintained enough of it for future generations to "have it in their blood." In her 1899 article called The Survival of African Music in America, Jeanette Murphy says that

During my childhood my observations were centered upon a few very old negroes who came directly from Africa, and upon many others whose parents were African born, and I early came to the conclusion, based upon negro authority, that the greater part of the music, their methods, their scale, their type of thought, their dancing, their patting of feet, their clapping of hands, their grimaces and pantomime, and their gross superstitions came straight from Africa [Source]."

This is as far as I could get for now. I will continue to explore the question in parts 2 and 3 of this post, which will probably be less than a week apart (my fingers and my toes are crossed). There are many more angles to consider than I could have ever imagined. I'll try to dig into as many of them as I can.