DEPARA, PHOTOGRAPH OF AN ERA!

**Because there's def Hope!

Miziki...mm I'm scared of y'all!

Why don't guys dress formal as much anymore

Diaye dolle

They're like damn why is he so full of it..lol

Yep that's us African women..we always have to pose

Love the skirt mama

The contrast btw the car & the poverty of the suroundings..AFRICA

It's always cool 2 me to see how people fall on their passion without looking for it...perfect example is Depara.

He was born in Angola in 1928, but lived most of his adult life in Congo. While shooting pictures for his wedding , he fell in love w/lenses. Later on life, he moved to Congo where he lived the high life hanging around w/celebrities such as Franco (reminds me of my dad ,he used to listen to him all the time..lol) anywhoo...so he became Franco's personal photographer which opened doors for him in the congolese nightlife..

It's great that he left this legacy, because through his photographs, we are able to see the youth of that era, the things they enjoyed, we are able to see that we are not that different from that generation good or bad, they loved the" flossy flossy", they enjoy having too much fun.

I found another thing interesting throughout his photograps; shots of clicks of women called the miziki who sup' were high rollers , suspect probably a bad reputation ( would love to get more info on that) ...

Djaa les Angolais sont dans le chaud aussi:)

Eyee Wayee:)

WHY NOT LEARN TO TAKE CARE OFOURSELVES NATURALLY?!!

** Respect the Elders

Strawberries yummy and so healthy

Banana banako..banana banakoko

Apple Bottoms..:)

Love me so great avocado on a bed of lettuce..mmm!

If you are like me , you probably played w/the idea of natural products, natural food ect...but I've ner taken it seriously..ok I'm not trying to turn into MISS EARTH ..lol..but you know I but wanna learn how to take care of myself better and there have 2 be a

great natural approach to it, products that we can find in my African continent or elsewhere...
So get ready, get your pocket change and let's go to the market:

*Strawberries..mm yummy (I'm full of shitt hun lol) anyways aight so ladizz u know when u don't have enuff money to go sephora shopping ...

just mix 1/2 cup of strawberries w/some delicious sour cream (mmm!) and use it as a facial weekly...I said weekly not every day...on se connait !!

Also, if you wann get read of facial pimples, mix for example 1 tea-spoon of strawberry juice to 1 egg yolk and put it on ur face...

*Avocado..the oil of avocado is actually excellent for the skin because it nourishes your skin mamas..so if you wanna have beautiful shinny skins maybe you should look into investing in some avocado oil or soaps. At my part time gig @ Crabtree & Evelyn we sell some excellent avocado soap..excellent for the skin.

For those of you who are crazy about the treatment of your hair, it's advised to use it before washing your hair it gives it xtra -shine...hun who would have thought?!!

*Chili Pepper yes le piment ..aight when you feel congested you could i don't wanna say eat pepper but hum..do what you gotta do but it's helpful for congestion..it also does wonder to people suffering from arthiris...

*Banana banako banana...lol Alpha Blondy's song..Djaa banana is actually excellent for us.... so in case you run our of strawberries, mash some bananas and rub it against your skin for aprox'15 minutes...

same thing with your hair except that u can mix it w a few drops of honey.

It's also wonderful to prevent ulcers & strokes. For the preggers mamas, it supos' is a great remedy to morning sicknesses...hun interesting! For those of you, who party too hard, it's great for hangovers,drink it as a milkshake...And for people like me who hateeeee heartburns , it has soothing effects...so come on now grab a banana!!

* Apples...first of all it's a great snack for those trying to lose weight, it also prevents nasty dandruff..it's also excellent for breath...so let's go apples!!

*Tomatoes are excellent to fight and prevent cancer...

Anywhoo there are so many more products and benefits that I could talk about , but I'll stop here today , you already have a lot of homework and food-shopping to do

Enjoy!!

A wonderful webbie about the pluses of eating healthy & organic food!

http://www.whfoods.com/index.html

Djaaa we need to take care of ourselves better (coming from the cake queen lol):)

Eyee Wayee:)

THULA SINDI AT FASHION WEEK THIS JULY IN PARIS

**Feelin miss Gwen

The designer THULA SINDI

courtesy of i-africa.com

Don't like the pearls but like the suit

My fav'..love the clash btw the various colors..

The details are amazing

Interesting..

When I first saw Thula's designs , I thought the designer had to be a women. ...WRONG!!
The beautiful little details on his clothes, the choice of vivid colors and beautiful materials...he got me fooled...!!

Anywhoo found out that him and 3 other designers such as Fundudzi which is another 1 of my fav' house of South African design have been chosen under the mentoring of Garvin Rajah to represent their country in the city of Fashion..It's a great honor that Thula takes very seriously according to his interview with I-Africa where he expresses his hapiness as being 1 of the chosen few. He's been preparing for this career for a long time and is here to stay. His dream celebrity for whom to design would be the curvacious J-LO (so there's hope for the thick girls lol)...

Anywhoo I hope it goes smoothly and that this brings great success to him..

Djaa we are coming:)

Eyee Waye:)

AKON & OVIE @ THE BET AWARDS

De vrai petit Senegalais ...standing straight & polite

Ovie M. at the BET Awards

Little boy is huggin Beyonce like no tomorrow..

Ovie again getting his free gifts on'

It was a pretty good show I thought, Monique (black American comedian) did her thang reppin for the big girls..I loved the Erikah Badhu performance's i wasn't aware that she could sing that well, I mean I knew that she was a good singer but I didn't know she had so much soul 2 her.

Beyonce..is Beyonce of course, her body was on point tieuyeeeee...

Kelly and my gal Eve (trop saffe la fille) performed my fav' song of the moment....
"Told you I was gonna do it like this"...that 's my track...oh I'm lying my fav' track is "Buy you a drink" by T Pain...love that track..actually T Pain looked kinda cute yesterday...the tribute to Gerald Levert brought tears to my eyes...

Fifty cents was a mess and didn't get no play..and I'm glad....goes to show that being arrogant may pay off in the short run but not always in the long run.

My girl Ciarra is starting to look scary , she's my boo but she needs to stop w/the weight traininng..

Aight so Mr. Akon Thiam was there, and I was glad 2 see him reppin for us, he seemed a bit more quiet than usual...w/his cute kids. I never addressed the whole brouhaha that followed his crazy antics, but I wanna say that Akon it is your duty to uplift us African people..

How many African people were present there that we know off? maybe 1 or 2...so brotha you know keep your hormones and your temper in check, you have great talent and potential live up to it..somewhere in Africa, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, even strangers are looking up to you to see BIG ...so keep that in mind..we know Hollywood , money is tempting, women are dangerous but boo keep your head up and stay focused..Allah gave you this gift for you to use it wisely...

Salam.

Everybody makes mistakes :)

Eyyeeeeee Wayeee:)

MEET MISS DJENEBA "NABOU"SIDIBE, REPPIN POUR TOUTES LES GOS DU MALI AVEC CLASSE!

Les gos du Mali ne blaguent pas dee...:)

I met miss Nabou through her best friend Adama & she
strucked me as being an articulate young woman who knew what she wanted her life and who went and still goes after it.
While talking to her, it became clear to me that she was an African sista proud of her origins and in tune with her emotions...She's pursuing a Master's degree (are u done ?) & working as a management consultant not bad for a 26 year old young woman hun..

La go je te tire mon chapeau..!!
I'm always proud to see young African sistas focused and ambitious...

Anywhoo discover her in her own words.
Let's Go!!

Being a Malian woman to me means
Pride: to know where you’re from & it also means belonging to a nation so full of history.

Bamako is…
Home Sweet Home.

Malian women are special because
They are beautiful, smart, warm, independent and traditional (this is not an oxymoron)!

Being a Woman means..........
Being able to embrace every emotion known to human being and not having to apologize for it.

Passion is.......
Fire! Spunk! Energy! It drives us to do things we thought we thought we could not/would not do.

Education means......
Freedom! Education means that I control my life and where I want to go in my life… plus no matter where life takes you, no one can ever take that away....

It is our duty as African men and women to........
Raise smart, educated, and humble young men and women of integrity who are ready to lead the continent.

Spirituality is.......
An individual journey. (that statement was deep sista )

Malian men are......
Always full of surprises and incredibly resourceful.

What I like the most about my culture is
Our strong bonds to our families, friends, cultures, and traditions: it’s a wonderful feeling.

What I like the least?
Our strong bonds to our families, friends, cultures, and traditions: it can sometimes be too much!

If I was to represent my country by one thing, one fact? It would be? Why?
It would be bogolan (Bògòlanfini), the traditional mudcloth. It is a very recognizable and famous pattern. I wish we would market it better such as Chris Seydou had started doing and Ismael Diabate is still doing. Local artists should own it and market it internationally, so when people see it, they think of Mali, the same way people think of Ghana when they see Kente cloth. A lot of people in the West are familiar with the pattern but very ignorant about its origins or meaning. Yet, they profit from the prints on numerous products.


My country is improving.......
Mali is working on diversifying its industries. Cotton was primary and still has a big role. However, the effects of climate change on the country, such as the changes in weather patterns and the creeping desert, are worrisome... So I am happy to say that we are trying to tap into other products: gold, oil, cereals… and increase their output.

My country needs to improve
The educational and health systems: we have one of the lowest adult literacy rate, shortest life span, and highest infant mortality rate.

To me people like Oumou Sangare, Rokia Traore represent…
Our voices.

I feel that social issues such as............... are important:
Poverty, Education, HIV/AIDS, Immigration, Health Systems, Gender inequity.

I feel that non profit organizations such as.......are doing a great/or not job
They provide an invaluable service to society: they attract attention to issues that need to be addressed (Greenpeace, Transparency International for example), support people who need it (Oxfam, MSF, Plan Parenthood, Red Cross/Crescent among others) and provide balance in today’s world ruled by strong governments and multinationals. They are not perfect and sometimes their purpose and roles are questionable. Yet, if they did not exist, we’d have to invent them.

The Malian products that I use are........
Shea butter… the real deal too, LOL, none of that watered down stuff they sell here ;-)

I wish that people knew that we Malian people are..........?
I think most people already know that Malians are welcoming and they open their homes and heart to anyone.

I wish my Malian brothers understood that
Vision is everything! We need to dream big if we want to achieve big.

What do you do?
I am currently a management consultant.

My mission in life is......
To be happy and to make those around me happy.

I am thankful for my parents allowing me to
Be myself.

Of my culture I will teach my children to....
Embrace it through music, arts, and literature.

To me being an African woman as a whole means
Not enough words in the dictionary to describe the intelligence, beauty, compassion of African women.

I feel that we are different from our mothers
Because we have so many more opportunities and we are taking them.

I feel that we are # or similar to American, European women.......?
Different and that is the beauty of it.

My life devise is?
It can’t get worse, so it can only get better from here on??!

My fondest memory is....
So many! Most of them involve good times with my family and friends.

My biggest regret is....
To not be able to play a music instrument. I love music and I wish I could create it.

Which African countries have u visited? Which ones would u like to?
I’ve been to Mali, Senegal, Tunisia…. I’d like to visit every single country: they are all full of history and beautiful people.

Is there enough of a dialogue btw African women of various African countries? Do we even try to really understand each other?
I don’t think there is a dialogue per se, but there is an underlying understanding of each other. Especially living abroad, I have friends from so many other African countries: the differences, when they do exist, are just minimal. For most things, we do understand each other because we are women first and foremost, before any cultural and national identity.



I would feel complete looking back on my life...?
Once I take over the world, eradicate poverty, gender inequality, illnesses, and unhappiness… jeez, I guess I will never feel complete then:)

My fav' book is?
So many books so little time to write about them! Let me jest give a lil’ list of some of them (I know I will remember more later, oh well!!!): Half of a Yellow Sun, The Kite Runner, L’Etrange Destin de Wangrin, Things Fall Apart, Travels of a T-shirt in the Global Economy, Makes me Wanna Holler, The Coldest Winter Ever, The Emperor of Ocean Park, The DaVinci Code, Interpreters of Maladies, While I Was Gone, etc.…. (sista the Emperor of Ocean Park is brilliant I agree)

Wealth is....
Money!!! You have to be honest…. Money matters to a certain extent. There such a thing as too little money and there is such a thing as too much money. Lucky are those that can strike the right balance enabling them to afford the life they want, without the ills of that too many riches can bring.

What I know for sure in life is.....
Death.

"BY THE WAY, I AM IMPATIENT TO RE-READ THE ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS IN 10 YEARS AND SEE HOW I WOULD ANSWER THEN!!! THANKS YAYE!"

Thank you Miss Nabou, I've learned so much about your experience as a Malian woman and as a woman simply. Keep holding yourself with so much poise, funk, grace and humility !!

Till 2017 then:)

Inch'Allah!

Djaa les gos du Mali sont dans l'articulement de la chose quoi:)

Eyee Wayyee:)

NO MORE A GIRL BUT NOT YET A WOMAN!

** Feelin my gal Rokia T

And she's Gorgeous 2!

Aight so I've decided to bring light on blogs that I like, or that I feel deserved to be known.

I will start of w/the bloggie of Miss Fa Sy (Galsene sista) in her early/mid twenties living in DC, pursuing a Master's Degree in Finance while working...yes homegirl got it goin on'....

Why do I think that her blog deserves your attention?
because she's real w/herself for 1, no bullshit, she's an African sista who's proud of her origins and who's also able to enjoy her Western life. She has a special way of writting that draws you in, very intelligent and articulate, you'll find on her blog her thoughts on life, professional life, corporate world...in a very fun-interesting kind of way...

Anywhoo here's her link:

http://ndeyefatou.blogspot.com/

Djaa we African Sistas should support each other:)

Eyee Wayee:)

TO BE OR NOT TO BE ON AFRICAN TIME?

** Sometimes ain't nothing better than the oldies but goodies zouk stylo

Whether you are from East, West, North , South Africa..I'm sure y'all can all relate .

Taking responsabilities for my actions , i have 2 say that I also need to go to "rehab" for this sickness that runs in my genes, a sickness that I inhereted from my culutre.

We African people for the most part take our damn time to accomplish anything.
For example , we all know that if a wedding is supposed to take place at 6 pm, the bride won't show up until 9:00 pm. At the workplace, if you have a meeting w/ Mr. Apple at 10:00 AM , he sure won't show up until 11:30 12:00 PM, and may the Lord help you if the person you are meeting with is important. He'll feeL that it is his right to show up at the time that pleases him, yep!!! you should even feel lucky that he allows you "unimportant person" to meet with him and let's remenber YOU NEED HIM.

Now when you are used to this system and you move to the West, you find people so

damn rigid or in a hurry to accomplish tasks. I find this way of living life so damn effective but I know that it wouldn't work in African settings for now . The concept of respect is mixed up w/every damn thing, expecting an elder or complaining to an elder about certain things will in most cases be taken as you being a disrespectful young'un.

In my case when I came to the States I was astounished to see my generation speak w/elders at the same level..I was beyond shocked...well now it's a # story, even though I will not bring myself to be disrespectful...well sometimes...lol...just a few times when it's really reallllly called for...

But anywhoo, there a few thangs that we African people need to rethink..and the concept of African time is 1, I know it's cool and an "inside joke" among ourselves to say so "are you getting there africa time?" but in all seriousness if we want to have an effective professional , economic system..those little thangs such as time that we don't take seriously

are the little thangs that could lead us toward the betterment of our continent...
believe it or not..and it start with you, me us..all of us...it's something I really need to work on...and now that it's all out in my bloggie...

I guess I have no more excuses.....

Let's use time wisely instead of letting time use us!!

Eyee Wayee:)

ALEK WEK PREGNANT??!!

Ohhh check out miss Alek and her little bump...adorable !!

Celebrating the Vanity Fair African cover w/Djimonand & galfriend

Am I the last one that my all time fav' African Fashion Model, je cite Alek Wek is preggers....

I am so happy for her, Mach'Allah!!

Come to think of it, how come my gal wasn't feautured on the Vanity Fair Edition on Africa.

She's like 1 of the poster children for African beauty to the West so yeah how come...anywhoo...

Djaa my Sudanese women are doin it preggers style:)

Eyee Wayee:)

OMNIPEACE CAMPAIGN

** Do u remenber "Twisted"

Love the shoes, work well w/the outfit

Naomi reppin for Africa

Courtney Cox and hubby reppin for Africa...ok??!!

Maybe all these people are trully sincere...but I don't know I'm not 100% convinced ...my opinon!

I guess one could say that supporting Africa is becoming a cool thang to do, well even though I'm being a bit sarcastisc , it's a good thang for us if those funds are being well allocated.

My NY Ladizz may be familiar w/the store SCOOP (trendy & $$ clothing store) well the owner launched a new line called Omnipeace with the African map designed on it.

Several celebrities such as "LA CAMPBELL" or Courtney Cox, helped launched the line...

I will not be sceptical...but ..I'm just saying ...lol

Oh and by the way I miss y'all, my office has been relocating so I haven't had the chance to writte but I am here to stay, thanks for your patiente:)

SO WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH OZWALD BOATENG?

** Do u remenber miss Nayanka?:)

3 ways 2 rock a brown suit

a/brown fitted suit and well pressed blue shirt

b/brown suit & this time white pressed shirt , black tie matching the shoes

c/this time...very very sophisticated..brown pants...mix of black & brown on top..so complicated that I don't even know how hew thought about this ....meannnn***loves it

Oz (shall we...) & Jamie the Foxx and Lawrence the Fishburne

Oz and the wifey..don't like the outfits but...ok

Nice use of yellow and white...ok def' stylish

Love the touch of green...this guy is very detailed oriented!

Nice..I like the contrast of the semi-conventional look of the suit and the funckyness of the watch...interesting

Strangely enuff I like!

His Line

Mr & Mrs de la Oz

Yes..I've been wondering..!!

He strikes as me a smooth succesful man who's climbing the ladders of success smoothly..

Well let's find out ..he was born in Ghana in the late 60's ..(no exact date...smooth player move right there...lol)

Anywhoo so he started his professional career as an IT guy..

But it wasn't his lifetime call and turned to his love affair with buttons and beautifully detailed colorful suits that he started the age of 16...

Anywhoo one interesting I found out about him is that he's the first African-British designer to challenge conventional conceptions of bespoke suits Savile Row stylo

(which is an old area in London reknown for its great tailors)..

In Hollywood he dresses the likes of Jamie Fox, Pierce Brosman for James Bons, Lawrence Fishburne and the Smith..Will of course...etc...etc..not bad for someone who taught himself..

I actually love his line, I love the fact that he pays great attention to details and is not afraid to play with colors...you can tell that he has great fun in designing his clothes.

Some of you may have caught him on the Sundance Chanel, if not here are couple of links:

http://www.ozwaldboateng.co.uk/

http://www.sundancechannel.com/boateng

I say go for it my brotha from Ghana:)

Eyeee Wayee:)