Orijin Culture

“Did We Fail Whitney?”

Mecca Abney — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:03:37 +0000

Did we fail Whitney?… now I know some will jolt back in disbelief that I would even pose such a question. “We are all adults” some will say. We all know the consequences of addiction and/or reckless behavior, right? But could any of us fathom what it feels like to be that vessel of something so powerful, that divine. A visual artist once explained me that some succumb to substance abuse because part of living as an artist is simply learning how to manage your art, learning to contort your life around your own talents. He said some struggle to control the rampant flow of ideas that impede their everyday thought. What if any of us had to live our lives just as that, in service of music, not as a person just a voice. I’ve heard some great artist of the world describe that same surreal experience when true inspiration is conceived, that its not by them but instead runs through them from some divinely auspicious source. They are in fact chosen. Whitney Houston was a part of the Anita Baker, Stevie Wonder trifecta of popular records played at my parents house. I remember their shiny vinyl covers stacked in metal milk crates that hung around my childhood home like vintage art. On Whitney’s first album cover she favored my mother with soft features and a toasted brown skin tone. I think about the songs that consoled me as a pre-K student scared crying running into my mother’s arms. Some of those songs to me are as soothing as my own mother’s voice creating the sound track of my childhood. So did we fail her? was she just a conduit and her music our emotional currency that we used up so freely without readily being mindful of the painstaking creative process. There were those songs where she ripped her chest open and poured out emotion so visceral that it helped to heal us all. Did We let her down? I have to ask myself and what will it take as a community to protect & preserve our elders and the conveyers of our arts and divine truths. In any civilized culture there are artists who are beholden to our aesthetic and this slender little Black girl from Jersey was born wrapped up in more transformative power than she ever asked for…How often have we watched this slow suicide, spiraling down the same path that we’ve seen before with our Black celebrity. How many more times as a community can we watch it happen? I hold myself partially responsible however I didn’t write this to blame anybody but impart to reconcile the growing collective guilt in this individualized world. Whitney Houston was a woman who loved hard…and it consumed her to the core. Her voice was a vehicle for inspiration grasping a hold of our hopes & humanity. She was our pristine picture of Black womanhood and has now passed on to another place. There is often much discussion about an artist’s responsibility to [...]

Remember me for “I will always Love you” and Not….| Whitney on Valentines Day

cadmin — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:10:04 +0000

After hearing the death of Whitney Houston, I sat down to think? What should I write about her, I did not know her personally and I certainly did not want to be like every media talking about drug overdose without having the facts right. And even if it was, did her drug abuse mean a damn thing to me at this point? Was it her legacy? Today February 14th, “The Love Day”, the day we all show love beyond the everyday love. The roses, the chocolate, the I love you, the I love you too booboo, the “special” love making some of us couples look forward to. I have something to question about that but i know best to keep my mouth shut before my valentines day turn sour.lol A song keeps playing in my head over and over again, slipping through my voice box, I hum the chorus softly underneath my breath; “And I will always love you oouuu, I will always love you, my darling you”. Without knowing the full song but loving the chorus which always soothing my soul, it finally dawned on me what Whitney Houston meant to me. LOVE. This is what Whitney meant to me, LOVE. A God giving gift with a sweet voice that sung love songs to bring lovely people together, the lyrics that mended broken marriages, the passion that inspired us not to be ashamed of expressing our Love to each other, the inspiration of loving beyond our families. Love. This is what she should mean to us, this is what she should be remembered for. Many a times, we turn to forget the true identity of a person, their impact in our lives but always seem to pull a blanket with their, troubles and trials they go through forgetting we also go through the same but in a different scene. We turn to label them by that, forgetting who they truely are. We saw the same happen to Micheal Jackson as he was labeled a child molester forgetting every good he had done, we have seen this in many others and even those living today. Let Chris Brown get an achievement and best believe his Rihanna story will crop up somewhere. Maybe this is life, but life that I don’t get when the dead can not even be laid to rest peacefully. I say this as I was appalled by a certain media who decided to label “Crack cocaine user Houston, 48, was found dead under the bath water” . What happened to the culture of respecting the dead. What happen to the value of her family. Have we lost that also. Just as Bob Marley remembers us of one love one heart, let Whitney Houstons “I will always love you” be remembered today and always as we celebrate Valentines Day. I have one request, can we dedicate ” I will always love you”as the official valentines day anthem for 2012? If I should stay, I would only be in your way. So I’ll go, but I [...]

my Orijin | Bob Marley

cadmin — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:37:02 +0000

Today February 6th 2012,marks the day the legendary Bob Marley was born. An Icon born in 1945 who influenced the world with reggae songs which continue to inspire and is still a source of upliftlment for many. Orijin celebrates the life and legacy of a legend. A musical Icon, A Reggae God Father, an Activist, uniting all Africans and the world together with music like “One love”, ” Africa Unite”, “No Woman, No Cry”, “Jamming” and not to forget the classic Redemption song: The life and Time of Bob Marley: What you may not know: Bob Marleys father, Norval Sinclair Marley, was a Caucasian-Jamaican of English descent and his mother,Cedella Booker,an Afro-Jamaican. As a mixed race Bob Marley faced racial discrimination, he once said “I don’t have prejudice against meself. My father was a white and my mother was black. Them call me half-caste or whatever. Me don’t dip on nobody’s side. Me don’t dip on the black man’s side nor the white man’s side. Me dip on God’s side, the one who create me and cause me to come from black and white.” Bob Marley Hot Tunes Africa Unite: Africa unite Cause we’re moving right out of Babylon, And we’re going to our Father’s land, yea-ea. How good and how pleasant it would be before God and man, yeah To see the unification of all Africans, yeah As it’s been said a’ready, let it be done, yeah We are the children of the Rastaman; We are the children of the Iyaman. So, Africa unite Cause the children wanna come home. Africa unite Cause we’re moving right out of Babylon, yeah, And we’re grooving to our Father’s land, yeah. How good and how pleasant it would be Before God and man To see the unification of all Rastaman, yeah. As it’s been said a’ready, let it be done I tell you who we are under the sun We are the children of the Rastaman We are the children of the Iyaman So Africa unite Afri – Africa unite, yeah Unite for the benefit for the benefit of your people Unite for it’s later than you think Unite for the benefit of my children Unite for it’s later than you think Africa awaits it’s creators Africa awaiting it’s Creator Africa, you’re my forefather cornerstone Unite for the Africans abroad Unite for the Africans a yard Africa Unite Lyrics by Bob Marley

Happy Independence Day to the Republic of Kenya!

Nekita — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:08:39 +0000

As one of the most diverse and most developed and economically robust nations in Africa, Kenya has come a long way since gaining independence from the British on December 2nd, 1963. Led by Named after Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kenya, the Republic of Kenya has played and continues to play an important role in African, particularly Eastern African development. Although numerous media reports have characterized Kenya as being plagued by “ethnic violence” and recent droughts have resulted widespread famine, is makes claims to some of the worlds most spectacular and diverse wild-life reserves and safaris. Kenya is also home to one of Africa’s most interesting and well known tribes, the Masia. Like most African and post-colonial nations, Kenya continues to encounter various political, economic and social ills. However, there is always hope for the future. As noted by Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first Prime Minister “You and I must work together to develop our country, to get education for our children, to have doctors, to build roads, to improve or provide all day-to-day essentials.” As long as Kenyans continue to develop ways to work together then they will be able to overcome many of the issues they continue to face. Orijin will to wish the Republic of Kenya and it’s people a happy independence day!

Island Girls are Crazy! Ask Chris Brown

Nekita — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:35:43 +0000

Earlier this summer I took a trip to New York and had a chance encounter with a gentleman by the name of J.R. at a Manhattan nightclub and it went as follows: J.R. approaches …. Wow…that’s a beautiful shirt you’re wearing. It compliments your beautiful eyes Me: Thank you….. That’s quite a spiffy shirt you’re wearing J.R.: You are approachable and you use the word “spiffy” you must not be from around here! Where are you from? Me: I current reside Toronto and have been for many years but I was born in Trinidad and grew up in St.Vincent. J.R: I knew you were too good to be true! I love island girls!… they are always so beautiful and exotic looking… and it’s the beauty and exoticism that pulls you in…. but ya’ll are deadly! I don’t mess with island chicks! Me, with an obvious look of disgust on my face: I’m sorry… I don’t think I heard you properly because of the music. Can you please repeat what you just said? J.R.: I’m serious! Island girls are crazy! Ask Chris Brown! I swear, you guys know how to push a man’s button’s to the point where he has no control. American girls get loud but I can handle them… you island girls are on a different level though! Being the true West Indian woman that I am, I’m pretty sure you can guess where the conversation went from there. Believe it or not, this was not the first time I have been told that Island aka West Indian women are crazy. I have been referred to as Miss Cleo (remember her?) or when I mention that I am from t he Caribbean/West Indies I am often told about how beautiful Jamaica is (while I do not dispute Jamaica’s beauty, my point is that many people fail to realize that the Caribbean is made up of many different islands) and how the next door Jamaican neighbour was crazy. I have been told that West Indian women are too headstrong, provoking and will often go to extreme limits to get their points across. While some say that we are crazy, I say that we are extremely, extremely passionate! I am the embodiment of the typical, traditional West Indian woman. My looks are ambiguous due to my diverse racial make-up; I “get on bad and wuk me waist” when I hear soca music; when posed with the option of a mango/passion fruit versus a berry drink, I will always choose the mango/passion fruit option; if I’m not careful and think about the word photography before I say it, I will place the wrong emphasis on the wrong syllable and say ‘flim’ instead of film; I will always choose the beach and sun over the snow and cold and I believe that dogs belong outside and not in your house, let alone your bed! As children, West Indian women are imbued with a strong sense of pride and independence. We are taught to cook and clean not to become housewives but because “your house [...]

The Lark of Music: Cuban Soprano

michelleflowers — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:37:06 +0000

As the winter temperatures drop in the northern hemisphere, it helps to listen to the hot Cuban jazz vocal stylings of Cuban soprano, Xiomara Alfaro. She was born in Havana in 1950. She performed with Cuban composer and pianist Ernesto Lecuona. Her version of the song Siboney was the composer’s favorite. Her musical style of choice was bolero, and she sang in a sky-high range only attainable by birds in the sky. She was aptly called “La Alondra de la Cancion,” or The Lark of Music. Indigo Thread: Women of Vision and Purpose is a column on Orijin Blog and Magazine. The column focuses on Black women in the media and other areas of society, including social, cultural, economic and spiritual. The blog appears on Thursdays, and the magazine version of the column appears in each edition of the publication. It is written by anthropologist and actress, Michelle Flowers, who is based in Los Angeles, CA.

Orijin Culture: African Caribbean Business Council 2011

cadmin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 16:49:32 +0000

Watch Highlights of the Round Table below.. [PLEASE CLICK HERE TO SEE THE REST OF THE PHOTOS] Orijin’s Memorable message from the great event: “In our minds all of us when we leave this hall, we need to continue to preach the message that Africa is a continent. It is so unfortunate that to this day, in a lot of peoples minds Africa is a Country. But I can also appreciate the fact that in the United States, you look at those divisions between the States and you just transpose it to Africa and say because Africa is all these lines and United States these lines it means it is one. The powerful message however of looking at Africa as one is the solidarity; because that solidarity is important for trade, its important for us as a people…. How many of us were taught by history that Africa is the dark continent. Today that we know better, you wonder a continent so rich in minerals, in people, in cultures, in beauty, in tourism, how could anyone ever have said it was a dark continent?” – Honorable Tebelelo Seretse(Botswana Ambassador to the US)

acirfA rethoM

Zack — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 23:09:18 +0000

Acirfa Rethom, the earliest memory I have of her has been glossed over by the passage of time and yet the sensations of our first meeting still come to mind. The warmth of her embrace was like the sun coming through a gap in the curtains on a lazy Sunday morning. Her laugh was infectious, and sparkled like the early evening sun reflecting back off the rippling waves of Lake Victoria. Her eyes deep and seemingly fathomless, held promise of understanding that endeared trust. Her smell was like the damp earth just after a rainstorm. Like a child I loved her completely. Like a child, understanding was not a prerequisite for love. Time passed and I grew up. I was exposed to others who though beautiful in their own right could never quite measure up to the adore with which I held her. With time and appreciation, her smile had taken on a more mischievous glint. Her hair fell over her eye, like the reeds on a riverbank, hiding the mystery that lurked therein. The mere mention of her name sent shivers down my spine and had me puffing out my chest, strutting around like a young buck on the Savannah. I had begun to hear whispers though. She was broken. She was twisted. She was not who she claimed to be. She was a plaything for the highest bidder. She was a bad apple that simply knew how to dress up nice. I paid them no mind. What did they know? How could they doubt the realness of what we had between us? Could they not see that ours was a love that little could break? With a flippant attitude, I rattled off the list of whisper to her, confident that like myself she would pay them no mind. That we would laugh at the haters and carry on where we had left off. She didn’t laugh though. She simply smiled as I came to the end of the list. It was a different smile. This one tinged with sadness, robbed of the warmth that I had come to know and expect. A tear worked its way down from her left eye as she raised her hand to pull away the hair from the right side of her face. That is when I saw the first bruise. Like a blemish on a Sunday dress, prominently unmistakable. I sat there in horrified silence as she continued to strip away the rest of her clothing, revealing with each layer scars both new and old. Some scabbed over while others festered. Purple bruises, old burn wounds replete with purulent discharge. The sickeningly sweet smell of liniment washed over me where once there were only sweet fragrances. How could I have not noticed? How could I have been so blinded? My mind spinning, my heart filled with thoughts of betrayal, I ran as fast and as far as my legs could carry me. The last sound I heard as my frantic feet cleared her doorstep was the anguished sobbing [...]

Introducing Orijin Boutique & VERNA Kyulah, the New Collection.

NoelleBonner — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 18:42:59 +0000

Since it’s inception, Orijin Culture has been dedicated to connecting all African descendants together through culture, and breaking the negative perceptions that plague Africa and the African Diaspora. Creating a unique voice of great writers over the years with enlightened perspectives to bring the “Unspoken” and the “Unheard” information to our intellectual curious audience, Orijin is taking its mission to the fashion world by re-branding its fashion line and launching ‘Orijin Boutique‘ ; An African influence fashion store designed to show the beauty of our culture and identity. “Culture is not limited to one space. It lives through people, places and things. It creates a trend and a lifestyle.”-Archyn Orijin VERNA Kyulah, the New Collection… “VERNA Kyulah”(Vernacular) literally means a mother tongue or native language of a group of people. The idea behind this line came about from acknowledging the history of “silencing” many people of African descent have endured by loosing their native language and identity through the force of speaking the language of their colonizers (usually English, Portuguese or French). But “VERNA Kyulah,” the trendy “urban” voice is here, speaking its native tongue. A language that the modern diverse world understands. The “VERNA Kyulah” Collection with bold type T-shirts such as “99% of the image portrayed about Africa is Bull$h*t” and “Give me 1% of your mind and I will occupy it with the True Image of Africa…I’m the 99%.”, is designed to grab people’s attention, creating an awareness to inspire others to inquire about the multitude of meanings behind the simple declarations. Africa and its different cultures are so much richer than the negative perception certain medias perpetuate. It is time we changed THAT voice. We are the people with the new voice. VERNA Kyulah The Pidgin language is here. The Slang is here. The Cockney is here. The Creole is here. The Patois is here. We have RECLAIMED our VOICE. VERNA Kyulah. Visit Our Boutique today: http://www.orijinstore.com!! Get Discount codes on our Fanpage: http://facebook.com.com/orijinculture Bullshit:- A blatant lie, a fragrant untruth, an obvious falicy (Urban Dictionary) FASHION… HUMANITY… CULTURE… DIVERSITY… STYLE… IDENTITY… LOVE.

Indigo Thread: Getting to Zero

michelleflowers — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 03:06:52 +0000

Today marks the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day. The Day is about raising awareness and money to end the spread of the HIV virus. This year the theme is “Getting to Zero,” which aims to elevate our collective drive to put an end to the disease. We are a long way away from that day. According to UNAIDS data, there are currently more than 34 million people living with HIV throughout the world. Sadly, there were an estimated 1.8 million deaths last year related to AIDS. Unfortunately, among women with HIV, black women are disproportionately affected. In recent years, black women accounted for 30% of the estimated new HIV infections among all black people. The rate of new HIV infections for black women was greater than 15 times as the rate for white women, and three times than that of Latina women. There are resources available to help our community. A short list includes: Alicia Keys’s Keep A Child Alive Foundation (http://keepachildalive.org/), AIDS Healthcare Foundation (http://www.aidshealth.org/), The Foundation for AIDS Research (http://www.amfar.org/), National AIDS Foundation (http://www.aidsfund.org/), and Elton John AIDS Foundation (http://www.ejaf.org/). Get tested. Indigo Thread: Women of Vision and Purpose is a column on Orijin Blog and Magazine. The column focuses on Black women in the media and other areas of society, including social, cultural, economic and spiritual. The blog appears on Thursdays, and the magazine version of the column appears in each edition of the publication. It is written by anthropologist and actress, Michelle Flowers, who is based in Los Angeles, CA. PLEASE GIVE YOUR THOUGHTS?