Batshit Brexit

I've been quiet for a while, mostly because life has steam rolled ahead and I haven't had time to sit down and write anything but now... Brexit. A campaign based entirely on prejudice and greed.

I tried my best to forget about it whilst at Glastonbury (which I'll be writing much happier things about in my next post) but I can't ignore it anymore. This is a decision that has been made, by and large, by a generation that doesn't have to live with the consequences.

I woke up this morning and saw yet another video of some brutish, uneducated, racist thugs attacking a person of colour on public transport. I then went onto The Guardian and saw that Labour were trying to oust Jeremy Corbyn who seems like the only politician who has any moral standing or positive vision in the government so far.

I then went to work and received messages from friends saying they were too afraid to leave their houses or go on public transport because they now feel the world is a frightening place and their home no longer wants them. Then I got angry. I got really fucking angry.

A lot of people seem surprised that the vote has gone the way that it has. I keep hearing people say,
'I can't believe this has happened'....

I believe it.

I believe it because from the ages of 5-9 I was the only person of colour living in a small minded town where prejudices were passed down from generation to generation. Kids at school didn't know why they didn't like me, they just knew that their parents and grandparents looked at me like I was worthless, like I was a dirty spot on their perfect white town, and so hate bred hate.

Last week I saw a little Jamaican boy with his mum in a butchers in Easton asking the guy working there when England was playing football. He said, "I'm supporting England because I'm British and I love England" and as I smiled at him, my heart broke a little because I was afraid one day someone might make him question that, with a look, or a comment, or violence.

I prayed that, unlike me, he wouldn't be told day after day that he didn't belong, that he wasn't welcome...that he wasn't wanted... And then Brexit happened and racists everywhere were told that their voices had been heard. Their prayers had been answered. They were getting Britain back.

But what Britain are they trying to get back? This is the question I've been asking myself over and over, what do you want Britain to look like? If it's a country full of white people, you'll have to take us back to the 1800s, to Henry VIII, to the Tudors because there were black people here then too you know.

In an article named The Missing Tudors: black people in 16th Century England, an extract reads:

"These Africans were baptised, buried and recorded in parish records in London, Plymouth, Southampton, Barnstaple, Bristol, Leicester, Northampton and other places across the country."

(Click here for the full article)

The Nation's favourite dish was Chicken Tikka Masala for a decade, only in 2014 did that change. We held the Olympics where we were proud that British citizens triumphed, whether they were white or not. And then what, Nigel Farage comes along with his backwards party and starts to split the country in half - is that really how easy it is to divide us? One stupid man who's married to a German woman, has half German children but because their white, it's alright?

Those who voted to leave made a mistake, but I only know this because in the past 2 years I have had to wake up and educate myself on politics. I know that Britain has an unattractive trait of not learning from its mistakes. For a tiny island we have an over inflated ego and very little ability to take responsibility for our actions.

Lest we forget, the reason there is such a high level of immigration in this country is because, as a tiny little island, the UK needed people to come over here and fight for them - to die for them. These people were brought in from India, Africa and Asia (mainly during the First World War) to die for Britain, but were quickly erased from the history books. The documentary by David Olusoga, named The World's War: Forgotten Soldiers of Empire goes into further detail.

After the Second World War, immigration boomed when Jamaicans and Africans were recruited to do manual labour jobs and told their 'second home' was Britain... From what my family has told me, I don't think they felt that way when they turned up. 

Our history is drenched in using other countries to make ours more successful going all the way back to slavery and yet 52% of the Nation has decided they don't want anymore 'outsider's' in their country.

People can try to tell me as much as they want that this wasn't about race or racism or prejudice or xenophobia, but you are lying to yourselves if you think those of us that are British; have always been British and will always be British don't see it that way.

That those who have come here to be safe because they aren't safe in their countries, don't see it that way.

That those who have come here to work at jobs people here can't or won't do, don't see it that way.

A choice has been made that sends a very clear and a very sad message to those in the UK and beyond, and it makes me desperately ashamed to be painted with the same brush.

But here's the thing - there are those in this world who feed off hate because it makes them feel bigger than they are. Those who have to go with a pack mentality because they don't how to think for themselves and those who simply make bad decisions, but they don't have to hold all the power. We are the only ones who can give others' permission to make us feel any smaller than we are.

We are bigger together. We are stronger together and we shine brighter together. And that 'togetherness' is not based on race, it's based on mentality. As a mixed race woman I am part of many different worlds and they are a part of me. I would be lying if I said I wasn't angry but when I came home and cried on my mum's shoulder today, I decided that I wouldn't be scared. I wouldn't give them that power over me.

Social media is a very powerful thing, it can open our eyes to the truth but it can also feed hysteria so I won't be re-posting anything negative I see for a while. I will forward things that will give me hope that life won't look so bleak tomorrow.

If anyone in the Bristol area does experience ANY form of attack (verbal, physical, anything) then contact SARI (Stand Against Racism and Inequality) - click for link. They are a dedicated, hard working team that will help you through it and help you report it.

Silence will not help us move forward. We have regulations in this country which make any form of abuse ILLEGAL. Stay informed but don't be afraid, because you are not alone. 

Xx

P.S. For all my Corbyn backer's in need of some hope right now:

'Last year Jeremy won a quarter of a million votes. Today he lost the confidence of 170 people who never supported him in the first place.

The vote of no confidence by Labour MPs has no standing under Labour rules; it’s window-dressing a thoroughly undemocratic coup with a made-up attempt to look democratic.

35 MPs nominated Jeremy last year and 40 stood with him today – an increase in parliamentary support if anything.

Hundreds of thousands have indicated their support for Jeremy in the last forty-eight hours.

He’s going nowhere.'

Lemonade: Beyoncé's sweetest lemons

Pray You Catch Me

The album opens with Beyoncé looking down with graffiti in the background, presented in fur and corn rows. A vulnerable admission of infidelity begins:

'I'm praying to catch you whispering, I pray you catch me listening'

As the word 'intuition' comes up on the screen Warsan Shire's words spoken by Beyoncé.

'You remind me of my father, a magician. 

Able to exist in two places of once. 

In the tradition of men in my blood, 

you come home at 3am and lie to me.'

Shire's resonant words weave each song together making the album unbearably intimate at times. 

It adds an inescapable depth of every day endurance that women of colour experience. Adapting the self to a world that doesn't accept easily or graciously.

‘I tried to change. Closed my mouth more. Tried to be soft, prettier, less awake.’

Hold Up

The sunshine reggae vibe of this song comes from an Andy Williams sample from the 60s and the chorus is a rework of "Maps," sung by Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. It is hypnotic.

Beyoncé’s familiar, unassuming smile etched into her face while she smashes up cars on the street with a baseball bat.

It's an easy listen and fun to watch but the music does become monotonous. Saying that, as is the case with the whole album, it's not really about the music but the words. 

'Let's imagine for a moment that you never made a name for yourself

Or mastered wealth, they never had you labeled as a king

You never made it out the cage, to locked up, movin' in the streets

Never had the baddest woman in the game up in your sheets'

Don't Hurt Yourself

Led Zeppelin are sampled in this Jack White collaboration. The immediate, driving drums from 'When The Levee Breaks' takes it to next level swag with Beyoncé growling over a filthy bass:

‘Who the fuck do you think I am?

You ain't married to no average bitch boy

You can watch my fat ass twist boy

As I bounce to the next dick boy’

The layers peel back with a Malcolm X sample:

'The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. 

The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. 

The most neglected person in America is the black woman.'

The edge sharpens as she unashamedly inhabits the angry black women; looking at the camera with pouting lips and snarling, 'I'm just too much for you.’

This could be a wife saying it to her husband but it could also be any disrespected black woman saying it to the world where descriptions like 'ghetto, loud, opinionated and sexual' have been used as weapons against them.

Sorry

Watching Serena Williams, a fantastic athlete whose aesthetics have been mocked time and again, expressing her sexuality in this video is glorious. She smiles and twerks, swapping roles with Beyoncé who sits stoically in a chair singing 'I ain't sorry’.

Black women are rarely allowed to own their own sexuality without it being drenched in animalistic shame or constant comparison. 

'He only want me when I'm not there.

He better call Becky with the good hair'

For me, this is the most important line in the whole album. Forget who Becky is, she is irrelevant. So is the affair. The symbolism of this line being sung whilst drenched in symbols of Africa is poignant.

'Becky with the good hair' is every billboard that women of colour see advertising Western beauty as the epitome.

It is every time I go somewhere and someone feels the need to mention or touch my 'interesting' hair. 

It is every time someone approaches you only to inquire about your skin colour, your sass, your Nubian twist. It is the everyday microscope that magnifies your difference.

Daddy Lessons

Beyoncé’s foot tapping, ye-hawing country/blues debut starts in New Orleans and ends in her hometown, Houston. 

It is the only song on the album she produced solo, co-written with Wynter Gordon, Kevin Cossom and Alex Delicata.

'Came into this world, daddy's little girl, 

Daddy made a soldier out of me.'

Singing in West African print along rhythm guitar, the song speaks of complex family relationships. 

It shows how the expectation to be strong and independent starts at home and is carried on through generations where we fail to avoid picking our fathers.

Forward

This short, poignant collaboration with James Blake is truly heartbreaking. 

It features grieving mothers Sybrina Fulton, Lezley McSpadden and Gwen Carr who hold portraits of their passed sons, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

It drives home the dark reality that we live in this world, that our black children are not safe.

Freedom

A gospel collaboration with Kendrick Lamar that samples 60s band Kaleidoscope to psychedelic affect, this is the albums’ ear-worm.

‘I break chains all by myself

Won't let my freedom rot in hell

Hey! I'ma keep running

Cause a winner don't quit on themselves’

Supermodel Winne Harlow said of working on the project:

“(Beyoncé) sang acapella with the courage of our ancestors who worked the grounds we were celebrating them on.”

Filmed on a plantation with women of all different shades of brown dressed in Victorian clothing, this song celebrates the generations of strong black women who have come before us and will come after us. 

It is an intensely emotional part of the album with French-Cuban soul duo Ibeyi and actresses Zendaya and Amandla Sternberg standing with the grieving mothers of the Forward.

It shows us the journey we endured together as a people but passes on home to the next generation. It cannot help but leave anyone feeling informed, aware, awake.

The cynical part of me accepts that Beyonce knows what she’s doing. When Formation dropped at the Super Bowl (the ultimate in capitalism) I questioned the timing as well as the intention. 

This isn't groundbreaking musically - the prominence lies in a specific message for a group of people to stand up and be proud. 

But then Lemonade tour tickets went out at £80+ each....pretty steep for the supposed target audience.

Despite this, Lemonade (which is still on repeat) is about much more than a man cheating on a woman. It digs deeper to how the world sees black females, and tells us to be stronger than others. 

Standing together, that strength can make us more fiercely capable than anyone.

Dear Beyoncé

I downloaded Tidal apprehensively. I'd seen the hype and knew I'd experience something both visually stimulating and musically mediocre but tried to keep an open mind.

The first shot of Beyoncé with cornrows and a fur jacket looking down with graffiti in the background gave me hope - I continued to watch barely breathing.

After 13 minutes and 45 seconds I minimised the screen to see how much time had passed and sighed with relief. 

Finally... 

Finally.

I smiled and allowed the first wave of tears to fall.

Dear Beyoncé,

To say I’m not a fan of yours is quite a scary thing to do, people do NOT like it. 

Friends, strangers, work colleagues, the general message is that as a young woman of colour you should be my queen. 

I used to think my indifference was bred from mediocre songs sold through fetishisation of the black female body but that was a fraction of it. Not until watching Lemonade did I realise the rest.

I discovered Destiny’s Child as a scared, confused child. At 10 years old I had just moved to Bristol from Wales where I was the only black child in the town. 

Told routinely that no-one liked me because I was black, at break boys would choke me behind the games shed and run away laughing. The girls would look away from me left gasping on the ground.

After two years my mum found out and confronted the headteacher who said it was her fault for bringing our ‘inner city ghetto’ into his nice school.

I learned to be ashamed of my blackness before I understood what it was. We’d moved from Harlesden, London where colour never occurred to me and then at 5 years old it put a target on my back.

In Bristol the polar opposite happened, now I was a wash-out. I didn’t understand the language, the culture, the expectation…

Destiny’s Child were my salvation. I saw you singing songs about independence. I could relate to that, I needed that. You were the common denominator I had with a culture I didn’t know how to connect with.

But then ‘Crazy In Love’ followed, a dumbed down chart tune that left me bitterly disappointed. In my opinion the words were meaningless, the message was obvious and the symbol was sex. The connection was gone.

However having had to navigate myself as a black woman in a predominantly white world socially and professionally, I now understand why you diluted yourself into a more palatable product.

Why should it be your responsibility to make a positive change? Maybe you wouldn’t be in such a powerful position today if you hadn’t sung titilating songs. 

It didn’t empower me, I saw it as a wasted opportunity but that’s the path you chose... And really, the music wasn’t made for me.

Lemonade changed that and I’ll happily wipe the slate clean of everything that came before it because this is what I’ve been waiting for. This is a product with integrity.

This is an album that has nothing to do with music and everything to do with words. Each one is relevant. Warsan Shire’s spoken word pieces together a version of you that we have never been allowed to see before. 

This is not Sacha Fierce, not an alter-ego but a black woman who has struggled with a common cultural issue - that it is our very substance that allows us to be disregarded or judged. 

Our looks, words, volume, pride, all play a hand in making us unpalatable.

Seeing you in this album unashamed and unapologetic of your anger, culture, sexuality, words, has caused celebration for black women everywhere. 

Never before have I seen more collective pride and appreciation than I have over the last few days.

So I put my hands up to you now and say thank you. Thank you for showing your audience and the world your Black Girl Magic in it’s multi-faceted form.

It's been worth the wait.

Sex Work Is Work?

I wouldn't normally share my BBC work on my blog but I think this is such a complex debate that really needs to be considered on more than one viewpoint.

This is a story I put together for BBC Bristol (though the article below is not my writing, I only provided the info) about how the closure of sex entertainment venues would affect those currently working in the industry.

It was picked up by BBC Points West - playback here from 11.24 onwardshttp://bbc.in/1RiFcek

Esme Worrell and Marvin Rees also led Emma Britton's Breakfast Show debating the subject on BBC Radio Bristol - playback here http://bbc.in/1RhZG6N

Bristol mayoral election: Marvin Rees defends strip club ban pledge

• 14 March 2016
 
• From the sectionBristol

Image captionLabour candidate Marvin Rees was runner-up in the 2012 election

A Labour mayoral candidate has defended his promise to try to ban strip clubs from Bristol - after a social media backlash from women working in the industry.

Marvin Rees pledged to rid the city of sexual entertainment venues if he is elected, arguing they could "feed into" wider inequality.

But stripper Esme Worrell branded the idea "short-sighted" and "patronising".

Mr Rees said he would work with the council's licensing committee.

'Bandwagon jumping'

He was criticised after he announced the pledge on via Twitter on International Women's Day, along with a promise to make half of his cabinet women and to prioritise abuse victims for social housing.

Strippers took the site to accuse him of "trying to destroy the livelihood of hundreds of women", "bandwagon jumping" and "criminalising" women in the industry.

Ms Worrell, from Bristol, said Mr Rees should investigate the clubs himself to see how they are run.

She said: "I think a man storming in and telling us that he's going to ban our work ... it is patronising because why should somebody be telling me what I should be doing with my body?

"In a consensual adult environment...you shouldn't be able to police other people's work choices, if they are legal."

'Listened to women'

The committee, not the mayor, decides on the policy around venues - which offer lap dancing, pole dancing, and strip shows.

Mr Rees said his pledge was backed by the mayor's women's commission.

"In the last election, all mayoral candidates supported a 'nil cap' on sexual entertainment venues. We've just listened to what women have said," he said.

He said a "real concern" was whether the venues "feed into wider inequalities that are faced by women". "Is the price paid by wider Bristol very very high for this?"

Mr Rees will go up against the current, independent mayor George Ferguson in May. Other candidates selected so far include Lib Dem Kay Barnard, Conservative Charles Lucas, Green candidate Tony Dyer and UKIP's Paul Turner.

In 2012 Swansea and Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, banned sex entertainment venues.

First published: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-35800643

Red Bull Culture Clash, The Passenger Shed, Bristol 2016

There are 3 clashes from Red Bull this year in Bristol, Manchester and London - but in my opinion Bristol got the best teams (admittedly London's teams haven't been announced yet...but our line-ups hard to beat!)

We had:

Butterz Sound

Team Tectonic

Stylo G's Warning Sound

DJ Die presents Gutterfunk

Tectonic had to be there as champions of a clash at Motion last year. Headed up by Pinch, even as I was walking in I overheard people chatting about Tectonic’s dubplates, soundsystem... But I get ahead of myself.

If you've never been to a clash before, there are certain rules that apply. There can be no double play's of a track. At all. All night. Break the rule and you get disqualified from the round. 

The winners of each round are decided by crowd reaction or a decibel reader if it’s too close to call. 

A dub plate (a song which has had different lyrics recorded over it hyping up/trash talking a team) can make or break a round.

The four rounds go like this:

1. Pressure drop: 10 minute warm up for each team to showcase their sound
2. The Selector: DJs play any style, musical knowledge is a necessity
3. Sleeping With The Enemy: tables are turned as crews play each other's sound
4. Armageddon: each brings out their biggest anthems to win over the crowd once and for all

Gutterfunk kicked off the night with some legendary Drum & Bass - proper Bristol sound. They got the crowd hyped and ready for what the evening had to offer.

However Butterz sound finished it off with ease. With P Money as their main MC, as soon as 'Skeng' The Bugwas followed by ‘Slang Like This’ the crowd knew who to yell for. 

They won the crowd from early but after dropping so much fire quick, could they keep it?

The way Tectonic took down Warning Sound in Round 2 was a sight to behold. Not only did they bring out Lady Chann (an ex of on of Stylo’s MC’s - MC Stormin) but with their legendary sound system they annihilated some of the biggest jungle/dancehall tracks. 

Believe me when I say the trash talk stepped up a level when Lady Chann shouted over to Warning Sound to ‘stop pretending and put in your blue contacts’… Ouch.

Saying that, after the amount of people Stylo G took to the stage in Round 3 (Lethal Bizzle, Chip, Fekky to name a few) and the amount of dubplates he came armed with (So Solid Crew “21 seconds’, Section Boyz “Lock Arff”, Beenie Man freshly shipped from Jamaica) he took Round 3.

The energy that stage had when the whole crew was up there was mad. When a crew is that gassed it’s infectious. There may have been too many wheel ups for me (I really wanted to hear more than 45 seconds of Fester Skank) but ultimately they made it a two crew race: Gutterfunk vs Warning Sound. 

By Round 4, everyone was running from team to team but I have to give a special mention to the hardcore Warning Sound fans whose loyalty held them steady at the front of Stylo’s stage.

Every team bought their A Game but Gutterfunk tore the place down with their feel good music. 

Every genre that makes you want to dance with the person next to you was brought out. Paul Johnson’s Get Get Down was my personal highlight. Their ‘keep people moving and smiling’ approach is what encapsulates Bristol as the music loving city it is. When they brought out their Unfinished Sympathy dubplate sung to perfection by Bristol’s own Eva Lazarus the crowd went insane. 

It was a tough call deciding between Warning Sound and Gutterfunk and the decibel metre had to be used but when Julie Adenuga came to the middle of the room to announce the winners, people had already started to gravitate towards the Gutterfunk stage.

Bristol champions and rightly so, DJ Die and Dismantle showed that knowledge of your crowd will win their loyalty and you don’t need to trash talk to win.

 Here's a lil taster from the night...

Review: Little Simz

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Reviews: Review: Little Simz, O2 Academy

Ngaio Anyia, February 18, 2016

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Little Simz has been one to watch for a while, but she doesn't shout about it.

At this stage if you know about her, you know - but if you don't there's a chance you won't find out until she's dominating the charts. That's how the Bristol leg of her tour felt. This artist has just come off a world tour where a majority of the shows were sold out - the Americans love her - and yet I was surprised to hear that Little Simz was performing in the top room.

She'd obviously been put on in a smaller space to accommodate the number of people who had brought tickets. There are some artists who would let this affect their performance - not Simz. 

A fearless flow is the only constant in her tunes, with almost every beat switching up after each 16. The constant changes leave you expectant, excited, never sure which genre is coming next. There were a couple of times I thought the bass drowned her out which was a shame because her words are fierce. When she dropped Devour (click for link) I was so surprised by the dirty drop that I audibly laughed in delight. Hearing Jackwob production on serious speakers is always madness.

It's easy to forget that Little Simz is 21 years old. She's touring the world with her friends, doing what she loves on her own terms and she's still a young ‘un. When she said "follow your dreams, you can do anything" you kind of had to believe her, considering all she’s accomplished.

Her words capture the world she has come from and the music takes you on a journey with her. London seeps out through strong messages of unapologetic pride in her achievements and ironclad confidence; in her ideas, talent and style. Gratitude from her touring album A Curious Tale of Trials + Personseencapsulates what I like about Little Simz. Starting off with afrobeat-style percussion and chanting, before dropping into vocals and guitar, she talks to us of her past, present & future:

"I came to show there's more, I'm expanding
Still on my lonesome
Give a fuck, I'm chosen
Bit of luck and a wish, maybe we'll get there
But for now, I'm zoning
Somewhere in the air, I'm floating
They will not control us
This the type of shit that ain't never gonna sell
Man, you shouldn't have told us that."

Nearing the end of her set I was concerned she wouldn't perform my favourite track (it’s not as grimy as the rest) but as soon as I heard the familiar strings loop I knew it was time. Marilyn Monroe is the song that solidified my Simz fandom. Effortlessly classic, the black and white video shows Little Simz in a shop with her people. She brought that same vibe to the O2 when Remus came out for his verse. 

Little Simz is an artist who isn’t afraid to be different and who has, somewhat seamlessly, risen to the forefront of a new sound wave. Join her. 

Published on Bristol 24/7

Bristol 24/7 Review: Rodigan's Ramjam, Motion

I am now writing reviews for Bristol 24/7 but totally forgot to post them up here too!

Will upload the rest next week when works calmed down.... Ramjam was SHELLINGS!!!

Clubs: Review: Rodigan's Ramjam, Motion

Ngaio Anyia, February 1, 2016

January isn't renowned as a party month. Everyone's spent their money on Christmas, New Years, travelling to be with family. I got into a taxi at 11pm expecting to arrive at an empty club, but how wrong I was. Motion was sold out. 

The main room was packed, raving out to the selections of Fireman Sam who warmed up the crowd with a range of genres. Grime, dancehall, bashment and UK hip-hop had the crowd moving in unison from the get-go.

Post Fireman and pre Rodigan I thought there would be ample time for a natural break so I went for a wander and was met with the most devastating toilets queue I've ever seen at Motion. It was so bad that three bouncers had been put on crowd control (this is just for the ladies). I made a swift u-turn into the Cave where Conducta was shelling out some serious garage. 

Little Man drew me to the dancefloor and I was lost to nostalgia. As someone who has spent many a night at Motion, I know how hard The Cave can be to fill: it's generally seen as a walk-through or slightly quicker bar but this wasn't the case tonight. Conducta read the crowd to perfection, switching up garage with grime and dropping a couple of old school hip-hop tunes in there for high demand wheel-ups. It took a lot of persuasion to move me from that dance floor.

When Rodigan bounced onto to the stage I couldn't see the floor for people. It is a true testament to the DJ that he could engage a whole raving crowd with reggae. Everyone was there to see this veteran do what he does best and he didn't disappoint. Reggae, dancehall: feelgood music flew out seamlessly and the audience was one of the happiest I've seen. 

The feel-good atmosphere ran straight through to Stormzy who catapulted the energy in a way only grime can. The main room got to one-in-one-out status as the balcony filled to bursting point and sweat started raining from the ceiling. Stormzy delivered - his energy was infectious and reciprocated to moshpit levels.

Truth be told, The Blast teamed with Rodigan's Ramjam had Motion busier than I've seen it in a while. If you were there, you know what I'm saying. If you weren't - you missed out.