Video of the Week: Premier Gaou

Go to any African party anywhere and there’s a 80% chance you’ll hear this song! Yep, almost 10 years after this Magic System song was released (at the peak of the Zouglou era), it is still one the people’s favorites, a classic you might to call this one!

The second part of the video features Meiway, another Ivorian artist, creator of the Zoblazo 

Go back to Africa?

The million dollar question isn’t it? It’s probably been at some point if the journey that is your life has landed you thousands of miles away from the place you call home. The question seems to be du jour among Africans young and old living in the US and Europe. Many of us have left our homeland for various reasons, education and voluntary emigration being the most common (just a guess, calm down). Whatever your reasons or circumstances for leaving, I’m pretty sure you’ve contemplated after a while living permanently in the West (if it wasn’t your initial intent to begin with). Sure you can give me a myriad of reasons why life in the West is preferable to life home but amid some positive changes that are taking place throughout Africa, I believe we must consider the possibility of going back to make our contribution. For too long I’ve been hearing from people and reading around the African blogosphere criticism of African countries, their leaders and what have you. Those are the same people who have been

Bon Appetit: Destination Ethiopia

Here’s another one in the Bon Appetit series (get used to it!). I left the African west coast this week-end to venture in the eastern side of the continent, at least in terms of cuisine. If you don’t already know, I dedicated my week-ends this summer to African food, from all corners of the continent. You can read about it here. So yesterday I headed down to this Ethiopian restaurant called Meskerem (468 W 47th St, between 9th & 10th Ave). It is a couple of blocks away from the more popular Queen of Sheba but I have a habit of rooting for the underdog (no I didn’t pick the Cavs to win the NBA championship!!!). You can tell from the moment you step into Meskerem that it is a bit rundown but that’s no turn off (whatever, you’re here for the food right?). The décor is ok as it is very minimalist to my taste but like I said: “whatever I’m here for the food”. As the waitress walked away with our orders I started noticing something odd at the other tables, or rather the absence of something. Yes no silverware here as Ethiopians are accustomed to eating with their hands, which is also common in Africa when it comes to dishes such as fufu, foutou banane (talk about finger food). You also have the option of literally sharing a plate with your guests, simply meaning that you eat from the same plate. Keep one thing in mind though when you order Ethiopian: the presentation of the food is very different! Don’t expect the same portions of beef or lamb you would get from a West African restaurant for instance:-D. My reaction (ghetto as some may call it) was “whoa son! Where the meat at?” It was a nice experience though, and at least now I’m a little more familiar with Ethiopian cuisine and will know what to expect the next time. There are few Ethiopian restaurants in the city (mostly Manhattan), just run a Google search to find them (you didn’t expect me to do that for you now you little buggers :-).

African Beauty “au Naturel”

To all African sirens out there, starting today I’m running a fun contest that I dubbed African Beauty au Naturel. The contest will reward its winner the following gift cards: $25 Itunes, $25 Target and $25 Best Buy. As its name implies, the object of the contest is to crown the most beautiful African girl without make-up or artificial apparatus, yes totally “au naturel”, no cheating!! To participate, just send a couple of your most enchanting photos to the following email address along with a short bio of yourself (ie. name, where from, etc.): oneafricandude@gmail.comm (just remove the last m) . The winner will be announced here next week Wednesday. Although the contest is open to all, keep in mind that you can only use the gift cards in the US of A :-(. Bonne chance to all and thank you for participating!

It is also in the spirit of beauty that I offer this video of Nigerian artist 2 Face, in this popular song rightfully called “African Queen”. Good week-end to all!!!

Photo source: http://www.theportraitpainter.com