When you walk in and you hear "Argh, ok, let's get this last one out the way" - you know the interview's started on a rough one... Alright, I completely get the harassing media combined with repetitive questions can kill a soul - BUT C'MON, as is the nature and forgotten perks of the job (we're here to hear more about you and in turn widen YOUR fan base Ms Celebrity). This lil rant relates to my yawn-ful encounter with R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan. I love her voice... when she's singing. Read on for a taster of the RWD piece, and click here for the full interview and video:
RWD TV: Jazmine Sullivan
RWD TV catches up with the Lions, Tigers and Bears singer to find out who she rates in the UK, weird fans, performing at the Jazz Cafe and her fears...
How’s the music game treating you?
The music game is treating me well! So far I have no complaints – it’s definitely challenging and hard at times, but this is what I love to do, so I can’t really complain...
How was performing at Notting Hill Festival?
It was crazy! It was a lot of walking – no one told me before that YOU DON’T WEAR HEELS. It was a mistake! (laughs). No one told me – but it was a lot of fun, seeing everybody enjoying themselves.
Your album is called Fearless – are you?
Uhh…I’m scared of a lot of things. I’m scared of everything really...
Really?
Nah that’s a lie (laughs). I named it Fearless because in some ways, musically, I’m not afraid to try different things, and put myself out there in that way. But as far as my personal life, there are a lot of things that I’m scared of – like everybody else.
What are three core aspects that young, black, females need to make it big in the music industry?
Let me see... I think you should be unique, you should be passionate, and…hopefully you’re talented. You don’t really HAVE to be talented, I mean, being passionate will take you a long way – but yeah, those are my three...
Many thanks to RWD editor/legend Hattie Collins for the hook up - trust, I actually like Jazmine's album... guess I just caught her on an off-one!
9/11/2009
VOTE! Mauricio Agostinho Camuto - Ctrl.Alt.Shift
The polls for the Guardian Achievement in International Development Award are closed - but that won't stop me promoting my choice - THE! man, Mauricio Agostinho Camuto; director of partner project Radio Ecclesia, Angola's only independent news station, which is committed to publicising corruption and human rights abuses. Talk about an unsung hero, Camuto gives a lot and expects very very little in return - his influence to the most underprivileged in his country is insurmountable. Read below for my Ctrl.Alt.Shift article on Monsieur Camuto:
Feature: Vote For Camuto!
It's like X Factor, international development style! And yes, there's a massive difference, as unlike previous X Factor winners, all of those up for the Guardian Achievement in International Development Award will leave a lasting impression on this world longer than any woeful Christmas No.1 record...
Of the 95 outstanding entries, a public vote will now decide on the champ from a shortlist of five – all amazing individuals – though Ctrl.Alt.Shift is stepping up and showing full backing support to Mauricio Agostinho Camuto; director of partner project Radio Ecclesia, Angola's only independent news station, which is committed to publicising corruption and human rights abuses. This man is a diamond in one of the roughest developing nations of Africa.
Democracy and social change are terms Angola is probably not familiar with, as low literacy rates and poor access to independent news sources leave little scope for public participation in government. However, Camuto chucks a blind eye to any obstacles facing his people, with his radio station breaking talking-point news stories such as the surge in the number of children dying from rabies in the country – food for thought for any government official...
Read the full article here
Feature: Vote For Camuto!
It's like X Factor, international development style! And yes, there's a massive difference, as unlike previous X Factor winners, all of those up for the Guardian Achievement in International Development Award will leave a lasting impression on this world longer than any woeful Christmas No.1 record...
Of the 95 outstanding entries, a public vote will now decide on the champ from a shortlist of five – all amazing individuals – though Ctrl.Alt.Shift is stepping up and showing full backing support to Mauricio Agostinho Camuto; director of partner project Radio Ecclesia, Angola's only independent news station, which is committed to publicising corruption and human rights abuses. This man is a diamond in one of the roughest developing nations of Africa.
Democracy and social change are terms Angola is probably not familiar with, as low literacy rates and poor access to independent news sources leave little scope for public participation in government. However, Camuto chucks a blind eye to any obstacles facing his people, with his radio station breaking talking-point news stories such as the surge in the number of children dying from rabies in the country – food for thought for any government official...
Read the full article here
Kevin E.G. Perry & The Silk Weavers In Varanasi - Ctrl.Alt.Shift
Much respect goes out to my friend and colleague Kevin E.G. Perry who recently got shortlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Competition. For his hard efforts, he was then sent to India to write an article for the Guardian about the NGO Find Your Feet and the traditional silk handloom weavers in Varanasi - this fellow hustler is living the freelance journo dream, and yes, I'm green with envy! More info on KP and his latest escapade can be read below on my preview article for Ctrl.Alt.Shift:
Feature: Kevin E.G. Perry On The Silk Road
Ctrl.Alt.Shifter Kevin E.G. Perry is a writer's writer; hugely respected here for his passionate and thought-provoking rogue reporting on issues from the 'Notorious P.I.G.' (on Swine Flu) to features on female genital mutilation in developing countries.
Good things come to those who hustle – as demonstrated by Kevin, who has recently been shortlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Competition; thanks to another inspiring piece of writing on sanitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (published here, on Guardian online).
Almost a year after that trip to the DRC, and Kevin is off again, now in India writing an article for the Guardian about the NGO Find Your Feet and the traditional silk handloom weavers in Varanasi. The free-spirit activist/journalist will be documenting on the life and impoverished times of these workers whose livelihoods are being "threatened by cheap imports...a familiar tale of globalisation."
Read the full article here
Feature: Kevin E.G. Perry On The Silk Road
Ctrl.Alt.Shifter Kevin E.G. Perry is a writer's writer; hugely respected here for his passionate and thought-provoking rogue reporting on issues from the 'Notorious P.I.G.' (on Swine Flu) to features on female genital mutilation in developing countries.
Good things come to those who hustle – as demonstrated by Kevin, who has recently been shortlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Competition; thanks to another inspiring piece of writing on sanitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (published here, on Guardian online).
Almost a year after that trip to the DRC, and Kevin is off again, now in India writing an article for the Guardian about the NGO Find Your Feet and the traditional silk handloom weavers in Varanasi. The free-spirit activist/journalist will be documenting on the life and impoverished times of these workers whose livelihoods are being "threatened by cheap imports...a familiar tale of globalisation."
Read the full article here
8/25/2009
Zambia's Corrupt Frederick Chiluba - Ctrl.Alt.Shift
Our MP expenses scandal was ridiculous, but this may be worse, much worse. In his 10-year reign on top, Richie Rich aka former Zambian President Frederick Chiluba allegedly spent around US$40 million of the people's money for his flash suits and gifts for the wifey... I feel ickly enough thinking about our members of UK parliament enjoying second homes and maid service on taxpayer's buck, but it cushions the blow, ever so slightly, to know I have a warm home, nice clean water to wash the dirt off my shoulder, no diseases, and a job that provides me with more than £1 a day; unlike many of the Zambian citizens. Get my point? Stealing from the poor to give to the rich is not the Robin Hood way. Here's my Ctrl.Alt.Shift report on the matter:
Young Blood: Chiluba One, Zambia Nil
Our MP expenses debacle was one thing but this is something else. Imagine Gordon Brown or one of his cronies reportedly gambling away the taxpayer's money, spending health care cash on a new golf club, a shiny new car, or perhaps some diamonds for their pampered wives. Essentially, that is the outrageous situation the people of Zambia face – but there's only one problem – there's not enough substantial evidence (apparently) to bring the corporate culprits down.
The defendant in question is former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba. The man is like Scarface; with humble beginnings as a young bus conductor, before leaping up the ranks as a trade unionist, and finally running the country (for 10 years no less), fully pimped out with designer suits, silk pyjamas and over 100 pairs of squeaky altered shoes (allegedly fitted with two inch heels to raise his 5ft stature). Credit to his rags to riches biography, as he went from driving to being driven - from boutique to boutique. Once he managed to spend a whopping $500,000 on a single visit to a boutique in Geneva.
However, you might ask, how could the little ex-president roll red-carpet style whilst his countrymen struggled on less than $1 a day? The answer to this question was hunted down by the lawyer who started this court room drama some six years ago in 2003, two years after Chiluba stepped down. This maverick lawyer – who was acting on behalf of sued Zambian newspaper, the Post, who were pressed for libel charges after calling Chiluba a thief – somehow gained access to the records of the Zambian intelligence service's bank account in London. These revealed evidence of payments to Chiluba's children, that lovely Geneva boutique and several Zambian officials. Come back to this year, and last week's acquittal by a Lusaka Court, saw Chiluba cleared of stealing $500,000 (£300,000) from the Zambian people. Everything in-between is a corporate blur of corruption...
Read the full article here
Young Blood: Chiluba One, Zambia Nil
Our MP expenses debacle was one thing but this is something else. Imagine Gordon Brown or one of his cronies reportedly gambling away the taxpayer's money, spending health care cash on a new golf club, a shiny new car, or perhaps some diamonds for their pampered wives. Essentially, that is the outrageous situation the people of Zambia face – but there's only one problem – there's not enough substantial evidence (apparently) to bring the corporate culprits down.
The defendant in question is former Zambian president Frederick Chiluba. The man is like Scarface; with humble beginnings as a young bus conductor, before leaping up the ranks as a trade unionist, and finally running the country (for 10 years no less), fully pimped out with designer suits, silk pyjamas and over 100 pairs of squeaky altered shoes (allegedly fitted with two inch heels to raise his 5ft stature). Credit to his rags to riches biography, as he went from driving to being driven - from boutique to boutique. Once he managed to spend a whopping $500,000 on a single visit to a boutique in Geneva.
However, you might ask, how could the little ex-president roll red-carpet style whilst his countrymen struggled on less than $1 a day? The answer to this question was hunted down by the lawyer who started this court room drama some six years ago in 2003, two years after Chiluba stepped down. This maverick lawyer – who was acting on behalf of sued Zambian newspaper, the Post, who were pressed for libel charges after calling Chiluba a thief – somehow gained access to the records of the Zambian intelligence service's bank account in London. These revealed evidence of payments to Chiluba's children, that lovely Geneva boutique and several Zambian officials. Come back to this year, and last week's acquittal by a Lusaka Court, saw Chiluba cleared of stealing $500,000 (£300,000) from the Zambian people. Everything in-between is a corporate blur of corruption...
Read the full article here
8/17/2009
UK Poverty - Peter Bull Millionaire Interview - Ctrl.Alt.Shift
Want a typical rags to riches story? Below, read up on self-made millionaire Peter Bull, the caravan site owner who took part in Channel 4's programme 'How The Other Half Lives'; which saw the mansion loving money-shakers try to shift the balance for council flat debt-bound families in the UK. 1 in 3 children in the UK apparently live in poverty - it's still nowhere near the devastating statistics from DRCongo to Zambia - but it's no bad thing to see the wealthy coming back to their humble beginnings to lend a helping hand:
Feature: How To Become A Self-Made Millionaire
Did you know that around half the young people living in inner city London live below the poverty line? I had no idea – but that's the stats being provided by new Channel 4 series 'How The Other Half Live'.
What exactly defines the 'underprivileged' is a grey matter; in my opinion it can be anyone from those living by the pay cheque, on the dole, or on the streets - and everything in-between. But what this project sets out to do, is bridge the gap between the hustlers and the flossers. This is not so much Wife Swap becomes Class Swap as each episode a wealthy family actively tries to help and inspire another fam struggling to pay the bills. The whole process outlines how we do, how we can, and how we should respond to the poverty on our doorsteps.
Self-made multi-millionaire Peter Bull knows both sides of the park, having grown up on a London council estate, before years of "bloody hard work" made him one the UK's richest caravan park owners. Last week, we saw him and his family assist father Jimmy, mother Toni, and their three children – a family battling debt and facing eviction from their gardenless council flat in north London. With his humble beginnings, Peter is proud his own two daughters, aged eight and 11, can now live in the luxury of a 25-room Kent mansion with 16 acres to run around on...
Read the full article here on the Ctrl.Alt.Shift website...
Feature: How To Become A Self-Made Millionaire
Did you know that around half the young people living in inner city London live below the poverty line? I had no idea – but that's the stats being provided by new Channel 4 series 'How The Other Half Live'.
What exactly defines the 'underprivileged' is a grey matter; in my opinion it can be anyone from those living by the pay cheque, on the dole, or on the streets - and everything in-between. But what this project sets out to do, is bridge the gap between the hustlers and the flossers. This is not so much Wife Swap becomes Class Swap as each episode a wealthy family actively tries to help and inspire another fam struggling to pay the bills. The whole process outlines how we do, how we can, and how we should respond to the poverty on our doorsteps.
Self-made multi-millionaire Peter Bull knows both sides of the park, having grown up on a London council estate, before years of "bloody hard work" made him one the UK's richest caravan park owners. Last week, we saw him and his family assist father Jimmy, mother Toni, and their three children – a family battling debt and facing eviction from their gardenless council flat in north London. With his humble beginnings, Peter is proud his own two daughters, aged eight and 11, can now live in the luxury of a 25-room Kent mansion with 16 acres to run around on...
Read the full article here on the Ctrl.Alt.Shift website...
7/22/2009
My Live Art Southbank Show - Ctrl.Alt.Shift
Summer of love? Try summer of stress, hectic movements, and glorious graff/art/3D work! I was well pleased with the result of this one - the pre-event to the art, music, and activism event of the year, United Underground; organised by Riz MC Ahmed, British Underground and Ctrl.Alt.Shift. I hustled together 10 mad artists from around the UK in a timed competition to create a piece each that screamed CORRUPTION!. This fell in line quite nicely with Ctrl.Alt.Shift's anti-corruption campaigns of 2009 and our latest CORRUPTION magazine issue, set for release online and in selected stores later this year. Read below for the event coverage and results - and look out for United Underground 2 on February 20, 2010 baby!:
Ctrl.Alt.Shift Live Art On The Southbank
Last Saturday, on 18th July, Ctrl.Alt.Shift went down to the Southbank to put on a stunning array of live street art and music - we got some crazy results...
The challenge had been set: each artist had six hours (from 10am-4pm) to create an image based around CORRUPTION. Stepping up were graffer legends in the making, Remi Rough, Pure Evil, Ed Tizer, Chris Getliffe, plus up and comers Mr.P, Mock, Sam Bridge, Arthur Branco, and finally a touch of fine art through Karl Anthoney and 3D mastermind Wayne 'The Chiz' Chisnall.
For passersby, on an unexpected, but gratefully received sunny Saturday, it was a thrilling display (just outside the Queen Elizabeth Hall) to witness first-hand how these artists got down. The extended deadline of six hours was looking way too ample for the experts of the canvas (and The Chiz), as by lunch time, most were detailing the finishing touches. I even had to ask a few to slow down, take a break or two. Little surprise though – Sam Bridge told Ctrl.Alt.Shift: "I just want to get this done, I've been thinking about it for a while and it's such an exciting and engaging project."
Read the full article here, and check out the final mad array of art pieces below, starting with the winner of the Ctrl.Alt.Shift competition, graffer Chris Getliffe:
By Chris Getliffe
By Arthur Branco
By Ed Tizer
By Karl Anthoney
By Mock aka Daniel Mernagh
By Mr.P
By Pure Evil
By Remi Rough
By Sam Bridge
By Wayne Chisnall
Ctrl.Alt.Shift Live Art On The Southbank
Last Saturday, on 18th July, Ctrl.Alt.Shift went down to the Southbank to put on a stunning array of live street art and music - we got some crazy results...
The challenge had been set: each artist had six hours (from 10am-4pm) to create an image based around CORRUPTION. Stepping up were graffer legends in the making, Remi Rough, Pure Evil, Ed Tizer, Chris Getliffe, plus up and comers Mr.P, Mock, Sam Bridge, Arthur Branco, and finally a touch of fine art through Karl Anthoney and 3D mastermind Wayne 'The Chiz' Chisnall.
For passersby, on an unexpected, but gratefully received sunny Saturday, it was a thrilling display (just outside the Queen Elizabeth Hall) to witness first-hand how these artists got down. The extended deadline of six hours was looking way too ample for the experts of the canvas (and The Chiz), as by lunch time, most were detailing the finishing touches. I even had to ask a few to slow down, take a break or two. Little surprise though – Sam Bridge told Ctrl.Alt.Shift: "I just want to get this done, I've been thinking about it for a while and it's such an exciting and engaging project."
Read the full article here, and check out the final mad array of art pieces below, starting with the winner of the Ctrl.Alt.Shift competition, graffer Chris Getliffe:
By Chris Getliffe
By Arthur Branco
By Ed Tizer
By Karl Anthoney
By Mock aka Daniel Mernagh
By Mr.P
By Pure Evil
By Remi Rough
By Sam Bridge
By Wayne Chisnall
7/13/2009
United Underground 1 @ Southbank - Ctrl.Alt.Shift
Everything you need to know about our first United Underground Southbank extravaganza can be found below, on the preview article I wrote for Ctrl.Alt.Shift. It was MASSIVE, with a mad array of music artists, perhaps even madder graffers, a great line-up of speakers - all brought to the Queen Elizabeth Hall by us, Riz MC Ahmed and British Underground. The only downer? It pissed down with rain - but that didn't stop the 700+ capacity bringing the rave inside:
United Underground!
Ctrl.Alt.Shift have joined forces with Riz Ahmed and British Underground to throw a rooftop party at the Southbank Centre.
You don’t have to leave London for a summer festival experience. Across the spaces of Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall - including the re-opening of the roof as a venue space - hosted by Ctrl.Alt.Shift, British Underground, Southbank Centre and actor and musician Riz Ahmed/ Riz MC, United Underground is a unique mix of cutting-edge street culture, music, artwork, fanzines and film set against a backdrop of new-school activism.
The event has been specifically created to promote active engagement with new music and its potential as a catalyst for change.
Activism, music, talks, film, art and crafts will be the order of the day...
Read the full article here
United Underground!
Ctrl.Alt.Shift have joined forces with Riz Ahmed and British Underground to throw a rooftop party at the Southbank Centre.
You don’t have to leave London for a summer festival experience. Across the spaces of Southbank Centre's Queen Elizabeth Hall - including the re-opening of the roof as a venue space - hosted by Ctrl.Alt.Shift, British Underground, Southbank Centre and actor and musician Riz Ahmed/ Riz MC, United Underground is a unique mix of cutting-edge street culture, music, artwork, fanzines and film set against a backdrop of new-school activism.
The event has been specifically created to promote active engagement with new music and its potential as a catalyst for change.
Activism, music, talks, film, art and crafts will be the order of the day...
Read the full article here
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