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After a full on career in music, on the UK hip hop scene, touring, owning his own record label at age 18 and producing mixtapes, Mic Assassin decided, in 2007, to start a new career in videowork.

He launched his own video production company and channelled his creativity in producing visual content in the place of creating music. Slightly desillusioned with the music industry at that time which was part of his life since age 9, this new discipline allowed him to meet new people from different industries and walks of life. It also was a lucrative industry which gave Mic Assassin a break from relentlessly working underground selling 1000s of CDs, over the years, hand to hand. 

Since, Mic Assassin is ready to take up music again. He wants it to be fun as he realised that music in his life is better than not doing it and he wants to keep consistent with it. Music has changed though; he is fully aware of it and committed to finding that new sound that best expresses who he is as an artist, a creative and a lyricist. Mic Assassin is also putting an ensemble of musicians together to tour, more shows are coming in November and December, as well as releasing online creative work.

To all of you reading, Mic Assassin's final word to you is "I hope you are pushing your dreams and true to yourselves, living to the best of yourselves"

As his own lyrics declare " You came from a long line, strong line of kings..."

Never forget where you come from, sky is the limit peeps!!!

Ne Kunda Nlaba, Congolese filmmaker, talks to me about his journey producing films during a coffee break in Brixton Lounge

While his passion for art has been evolving from young, it is in 2007 that Ne Kunda Nlaba chooses to focus on cinematography. According to him, filmmaking is the fusion of all the arts such as music, dance, photography, acting and others. Yet, his experience in Kinshasa, Congo, was that " creativity was there but resources were scarce". Creative Africans were confronted with the fact that although rich in ideas, investors did not support them financially. Ne Kunda observes that there is a work of valorization of the African cinema which is necessary in order for African investors to understand the value of producing films as an art and industry which could, in turn, encourage its development. According to him, the old paradigm needs to change. Since cinema has existed in Africa, the sources of funding almost came exclusively from Europe and filmmakers solely relied on foreign grants to carry out a project. This culture must change and we must apply different economic models to attract local investments..

Therefore, it is a year after his arrival in London that Ne Kunda Nlaba would have the opportunity to achieve his first short film. See below for the complete filmography of Ne Kunda Nlaba:

1. "The next" (2009), short film
2. "The Steel Pan" (2010) documentary
3. "Living without living" (2011) Documentary of 16 min
4. " Honey Bondowe" (2012), his first long-fiction film
5. "Abeti Masikini: The Battle of a woman" (2015) Documentary film
6. "Kimpa Vita: the Mother of the African revolution" (2016) documentary film

A committed artist, Ne Kunda Nlaba is often inspired by his own experiences and environment;  as for example the documentary Living without living, which speaks of Congolese refugees waiting for regularization of their stay in England; or Kimpa Vita, the mother of the Kongo resistance to the western invasion and colonialism, yet occulted by history. He would say "Through this documentary, I wanted to trace the life of the mother of the African revolution" Kimpa Vita" her fight for freedom, against slavery and the massacre and deportations of the people of the Kongo, as well as the restoration of the Kongo kingdom …" Ne Kunda Nlaba is a filmmaker who wants to use art for change.

For more info on the project Afro Beat, please continue to read below:

Ne Kunda Nlaba's new project "Afro Beat" is a long-fiction film in pre-production in which he is the producer, director and screenwriter. With Afro Beat, Ne Kunda wanted to work on a project representative of the African diasporas in England. Afrobeat is a musical genre that is increasingly gaining fame and notoriety and which is in phase with a younger public. Through Afro Beat, Ne Kunda brings a message tackling racism, discrimination, the difficulties that the minority communities may face in order to find a job at the height of their qualifications or ambitions, which often lead them to pursue other professional activities to make a living. And such is the plot of the film. Mala, a law graduate is destined for a career as a lawyer but chooses dance and choreography after failed attempts to find a job in Law firms. By borrowing money to Cahsman to start his business, he will confront  impossible situations orchestrated by the latter in order to compel him to sell drugs for him. His only way out: win a great competition of Afrobeat to reimburse Cashman.

Ne Kunda Nlaba invites us to take part and contribute to this project through crowdfunding. Afrobeat is a movie of positive representation of the Afro Community and which puts to contribution a young talented cast. The objective of the campaign of Crowdfunding is to raise £30,000, which represents less than a quarter of the budget of the film amounting to £100,000.

For more info, see the link below:

Ne Kunda Nlaba, cinéaste congolais, me parle de son parcours en tant que cinéaste lors d'une pause café à Brixton Lounge. Alors qu’il évolue depuis son plus jeune âge dans le milieu du théâtre, de la musique et de la danse et qu’il est conscient des ses talents artistiques depuis l’école, c’est en 2007 qu’il choisit de se focaliser sur le cinéma. Selon lui, le cinéma est la mise en commun de tous les arts. En effet, en réalisant un film, plusieurs éléments sont associés tels que la musique, la danse, la photographie, l’interprétation et autres. Pourtant, son expérience à Kinshasa était que « la créativité était là mais il y avait peu de moyens ». Les créatifs africains étaient confrontés au fait que bien que riche d’idées, les investisseurs ne soutenaient pas financièrement les projets cinématographiques.

Ne Kunda observe qu’il y a un profond travail de valorisation du cinéma africain qui est nécessaire afin de faire comprendre la valeur du film en tant qu’art et industrie ce qui pourrait favoriser son développement. Selon lui, il est nécessaire de changer le paradigme car depuis que le cinéma existe en Afrique, les sources de financement venaient quasi exclusivement de l’Europe et les cinéastes s’appuyaient uniquement sur ces subventions pour mener à bien un projet. Cette culture doit changer d’où l’utilité d’inciter les investisseurs africains à investir dans leurs propres films et de leur proposer des modèles économiques différents en vue de tirer un profit.

 C’est donc un an après son arrivée à Londres que Ne Kunda Nlaba aura l’opportunité de réaliser son 1^er court métrage. Voir ci-dessous pour la filmographie complète de Ne Kunda Nlaba:

1. « The Next » (2009), court métrage

2. « The Steel Pan » (2010) documentaire

3. « Living Without Living » (2011) documentaire de 16 min

4. « Chérie Bondowe » (2012), son premier long-métrage de fiction

5. « Abeti Masikini : Le Combat d’une Femme » (2015) film documentaire

6. « Kimpa Vita: La Mère de la Révolution Africaine » (2016) film documentaire

Artiste engagé, Ne Kunda Nlaba s’inspire souvent de faits qui le touchent de près comme par exemple le documentaire Living without Living qui parle des réfugiés congolais en attente de régularisation de séjour en Angleterre ou Kimpa Vita, grand personnage occulté de la résistance Kongolaise à l’invasion occidentale et au colonialisme. Il en dira « à travers ce film documentaire, je veux retracer la vie de la mère de la révolution africaine « Kimpa Vita » en faisant découvrir sa lutte, son combat pour la liberté, la restauration du royaume Kongo et la lutte contre l’esclavage, le massacre et les déportations du peuple Kongo… » Ne Kunda est un cinéaste qui veut apporter le vent du changement et il estime que c’est un des rôles de l’art.

Pour plus d'infos sur le projet Afro Beat, continuez à lire ci-dessous:

Son nouveau projet « Afro Beat » est un long-métrage de fiction en pré-production dans lequel Ne Kunda Nlaba est producteur, réalisateur et scénariste. Avec Afro Beat, Ne Kunda désirait travailler sur un projet représentatif de la diaspora africaine en Angleterre. L’afrobeat est un genre musical qui prend de l’ampleur au niveau de l’industrie musicale et qui est en phase avec un public plus jeune. Par ce biais, Ne Kunda apporte un message concernant le racisme, la discrimination, les difficultés auxquelles les communautés minoritaires peuvent faire face pour trouver un emploi à la hauteur de leurs qualifications ou ambitions, faute desquelles elles se redirigent dans d’autres domaines pour survivre. Et telle est l’intrigue du film. Mala, diplômé de droit se destine à une carrière d’avocat mais se réorientera vers la danse et la chorégraphie pour gagner sa vie. En empruntant de l’argent à Cahsman pour démarrer son affaire, il se verra confronter à des situations impossibles orchestrées par ce dernier afin de le contraindre à devenir un dealer de drogue. Sa seule issue : gagner une grande compétition d’afrobeat afin de rembourser Cashman.

Ne Kunda Nlaba nous invite à prendre part et contribuer à ce projet par le biais d’un financement participatif. Afrobeat fait partie des films à représentation positive de la communauté afro et qui met à contribution de jeunes acteurs talentueux. L’objectif de la campagne de crowdfunding est de pouvoir réunir £30,000, ce qui n'est même pas un quart du budget du film qui se chiffre à £100 000.

Pour plus d’infos, voir le lien du Crowdfunding ci-dessous.

Pendant que Boubacar Kafando, un virtuose du N'goni et de la Kora, artiste, compositeur, interprète et et le leader du groupe Zaama Nooma, est en train de terminer les balances pour le concert "Focus Africa" dans une heure de temps, je suis présentée à Joel Kabore, l'un des cinq principaux musiciens du groupe. Joel joue du djembé et Tama et est également du Burkina Faso comme l'est Boubacar. Son amitié et relation musicale avec Boubacar ne date pas d'hier; ils se connaissent depuis plus de 20 ans. Pour ce qui est du groupe Zaama Nooma, il est soigneusement constitué par Boubacar Kafando en 2010.

Joel Kabore me révèle que le nom du groupe signifie "unis nous sommes plus forts" dans la langue Mooré, qui est la langue dominante du Burkina Faso. Le Burkina Faso en Afrique de l'Ouest, qui signifie "Le pays des hommes intègres",  compte environ 70 langues différentes ce qui en fait un pays multiculturel, comme de nombreuses nations africaines. L'humanité de Boubacar Kafando et son groupe Zaama Nooma et leur recherche d'harmonie se traduisent dans leur amour pour la musique ; et l'expression de leur musique est d'encourager tout un chacun à vivre en harmonie avec son prochain. Ils adressent aussi le besoin de justice sociale et les inégalités ou injustices qu'ils voient autour d'eux. Naturellement, il est parfaitement logique que le dernier album de Boubacar Kafando, sorti en 2016, s'appelle "faut pas se diviser".

Pour plus d'info sur Zaama Nooma, Afrobeat band, cliquez le lien ci-dessous :

https://www.boubacarkafando.com/bio-eng

Continuez au bas de la page pour plus d'infos sur l'association Zaama Nooma et son centre culturel au Burkina Faso

Leur projet musical est, toutefois, bien au-delà de l'industrie de la musique seule. Zaama Nooma est aussi le nom de l'association que Boubacar Kafando a fondée en 2007 dans le but de transmettre l'héritage musical du Burkina Faso et de l'Afrique subsaharienne à sa jeunesse. Elle y veille, à travers différentes actions telles que des ateliers de musique (djembé, Kora), des concerts, des activités éducatives telles que la réparation et la fabrication d'instruments et la recherche et la préservation des instruments en voie de disparition.

Plus tard, en parlant à Boubacar Kafando, il m'est évident que sa passion et son engagement pour la musique et son patrimoine est une partie intégrale de sa mission et de sa vie; il tourne à travers le monde et collecte des fonds pour faire vivre son association. Il travaille aussi activement à promouvoir son groupe Zaama Nooma afin qu'ils puissent également vivre de leur art. C'est une des raisons pour lesquelles Boubacar Kafando aime se produire à Londres, qu'il considère être une ville multiculturelle, très ouverte à la culture africaine et à sa musique.

Pour ma part, j'ai adoré voir Boubacar Kafando et Zaama Nooma Live. Leur énergie, la fusion de rock et la rythmique traditionnelle de la Kora et autres instruments traditionnels, leurs états d'esprit, en font un groupe totalement à part et unique.

Je vous encourage vivement à les découvrir et à assister à leurs prochains concerts.

Pour toutes les dates à venir, https://www.boubacarkafando.com/

As Boubacar Kafando, a virtuose of the N'goni and the Kora, singer, songwriter, composer and the leader of the great Zaama Nooma band, is finishing off the balance for the concert "Focus Africa" starting in a hour time, I am introduced to Joel Kabore, one of the five main musicians of the band. Joel plays Djembe and Tama and is also from Burkina Faso as is Boubacar. His friendship and musical relationship with Boubacar goes back a long way, over 20 years. The actual band came together in 2010. Joel Kabore tells me that the meaning of the band's name is "united we are stronger" in the Mossi Language, which is the dominant language of Burkina Faso, which counts approximately 70 languages and makes it a multicultural country, as many African nations. Boubacar Kafando and the band's love for people and unity really translate in their love for music; and the expression of their music is to call people to leave in harmony and love each other. They equally address the need for social justice and inequalities or injustice they see around them. It naturally makes perfect sense that the latest album of Boubacar Kafando, released in 2016, is called "faut pas se diviser", we must not be divided.

For more info about Zaama Nooma, Afrobeat band, check the link below:

https://www.boubacarkafando.com/bio-eng

Continue to read below for info on their charitable work

Their musical project is, however, far beyond the music industry alone. Zaama Nooma is also the name of the charitable organisation Boubacar Kafando founded in 2007 with the aim to pass on the musical heritage of Burkina Faso and sub-Saharan Africa to the youth. It accomplishes its goal through different actions such as musical workshops (Djembe, Kora), concerts, educational activities such as the repair and manufacture of instruments and research and preservation of endangered instruments. A cultural centre "le centre culturel Zounoogo" also opened its doors in 2009 in the town of Saponé, Burkina Faso.

For more info, https://www.boubacarkafando.com/association-zaama-nooma

Later on, speaking to Boubacar Kafando, it is evident that his passion and commitment for music is integral, touring throughout the world and raising funds for the work of his charity and he is actively working at promoting the band so that they can comfortably make a living from the art and their craft. That is one of the reason Boubacar Kafando loves performing in London which he considers to be a multicultural city, very open to African Culture and music.

For my part, I have loved seeing Boubacar Kafando and the Zaama Nooma band perform. I loved the energy, the fusion of rock and the traditional rhythmic of the Kora and other traditional instruments.

For Boubacar Kafando's and the Zaama Nooma's Band next concerts, find all the dates on https://www.boubacarkafando.com/

Kemi and Kiisha, aged 8 and 6 years olds, are just so cool! It's Saturday 2nd June and the girls' brand Kishem (a blend of both of their names) holds a stall at Camden market. On the table, there are numerous gorgeous items so very girly: badges, keyrings, lucky dip sachets, cookies, colouring books.... Kemi is pointing at the illustration of their lead character dressed Wakanda style. I ask her if she watched Black Panther and naturally this 8 year old Tycoon has. Moreover, she has her  own tag line for it "Wakanda rock". I proceed looking at all the items and I am totally in love with them and Kishem's concept.

There is no doubt in my mind that being a little girl again, I would simply love rocking "Kishem style". In fact, all of us ladies present, secretly love all of the characters of Kishem's world and would happily get colouring the pages of the story book there and then. Kishem's oldest sister's favorite is Afia because this character loves science. Unsurprisingly, Kishem's sister loves science herself. And that is the point, that's what we call Positive Representation. These characters in Kishem's storybooks are neither princesses, nor ballerinas. They are powerful, talented, creative, entrepreneurial girls.

- Zhen is a photographer and you get to see her editing in her studio

- Mya is good at cooking

- Kishem loves karate and sports

- Eve is a great swimmer

- Ruby makes jewellery

- Amor loves technology

..... and so on and so forth!!!

These two little girls totally achieved what they set out to do one day of Summer 2016.

"We got the idea to create the Kishem colouring book after asking our mum and dad why there weren't colouring books with all types of children who look like us or our friends in school. Our Dad said "girls problems are meant for solving" (he says that all the time), so we decided to make our own" .... "We wanted the book to have different types of children who are all talented and unique. It was also important to make it more than just a colouring book so after creating and naming each character, we added short stories about them and what they enjoy doing. We think all children have something special about them and we hope this book helps them to realise that they are really cool and that they can do anything".

Two years down the line, Kishem has been able to show their books in UK schools, shipped their books to America, had requests from Africa. I have no doubt Kishem will continue to go from strength to strength. Their multicultural characters offer representation for every girl and ethnic group they represent in our schools nowadays, especially in the UK.

For more info about Kishem or to invite them for a talk at your local school, check their website below....

I wish all the very best to these two precious stars on their Kishem's Journey and have been delighted to meet them. They are greatly inspiring!

Situated at 99 Morning Lane, close to the Burberry outlet in Hackney, the Hackney Shop is featuring the Modern African Inspired brand "GITAS PORTAL" until Sunday 27th May 2018. The shop is open everyday from 11 to 8pm with unique pieces to boast and a personal shopping experience.

Established in 2011, GITAS PORTAL embodies confidence and sophistication and caters to women from all walks of life. In keeping with its social responsibility promise, Gitas Portal garments are produced locally to ensure that the working conditions and quality can regularly be monitored.

Gitas Portal's boutique is currently based in Deptford Bridge. Known for its clever use of beautiful Ankara /African wax prints and vibrant colors, reflected in their tagline "Be Bold, Win, Wear Colour", Gitas Portal create pieces that transition well from casual day wear to event wear and has secured a clientele all over London and further afield.

By choosing Hackney as a location for their pop-up store, Mariatu, the brand owner, aimed to come a little closer to their East London customers and to give the brand more exposure. The response has been amazing, her designs and Summer dresses displayed in the shop window have attracted many residents passing by on foot or by car, such as a local dad of a 14 and 16 year old teenage girls who came in to search for sophisticated African attires with a view to encourage his two princesses to embrace their African culture.

In addition, Gitas Portal fans and brand ambassadors, such as Sarah Eckert, close to have practically purchased every single piece of Gitas Portal collections, have been coming in to support and purchase their new Summer pieces:

- The Lauren, in tropical colors, Green Ankara print ( a sell out last year) and a beautiful Red and Black vintage

- The Kelai, in Burgundy and Grey, Pink and Turquoise

- The Lady Seray in bold flower prints, Orange and Blue, earth tones and freedom print

Mariatu talks of these dresses as if they were her babies and she does admit to it jokingly.... "these dresses are named after the daughters I would have had...." - a bold statement as Mariatu is a mother of 5. Traditional names from Sierra Leone, her country of origin, inspire her too.

Summer dresses' prices range from £65 to £100 so you know what to do next .....get your unique piece from Gitas Portal before the sell out!!!

What's next for Gitas Portal?

Gitas Portal is always on the lookout for pop-up stores locations to meet new customers so feel free to get in touch if you have any suggestions!!!! Gitas Portal will also be travelling this Summer!! Another conquest of the US Market, after Atlanta, it will be New Orleans and New York...

I will be wearing myself their Summer Bomber in the next coming days..... Watch this space!!!

For more 2018 Afro Culture News, www.afroculture.co.uk and check us on Social Media Afro Culture 2018