Not Your African Cliché

Get philosophical with us! On this episode we reflect on change as it relates to ourselves and other people. Do people change or do we have fixed selves? We explore how we’ve changed physically, mentally, spiritually and financially, amongst other ways. We also discuss why people are obsessed with and often reluctant to change.

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Reading:

Leye Adenle’s Easy Motion Tourist

Watching:

Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther

Listening:

Praiz’ 2 mins (EP)

Ric Hassani’s Believe Extended Remix Feat Falz & Olamide

Black Panther Soundtrack Album

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Episode was mixed by Ifeoluwa Olokode. Theme song is Ayo by Femi Leye

On this episode of NYAC, the ladies participate in a "get to know you" tag. We take a trip down memory lane and swap stories about our birth, our childhood neighborhoods and our first email addresses. We also have a few laughs over books we read as kids, and the superstitions we still hold on to. Listen and let us know what your answers to some of these questions are!

Reading:

- Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

- Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde

- Tar Baby by Toni Morrison

- We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union

- The Mother of Black Hollywood by Jenifer Lewis

- The Five Love Languages for Singles by Gary Chapman

Watching:

- Westworld (HBO)

- Grace & Frankie (Netflix)

- Marvel’s Runaways (Hulu)

- Stepsisters (Netflix)

Listening:

- Last Daze of Summer by Maleek Berry

- Outside by Burna Boy

- Your Great Name by Todd Dulaney

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Episode mixed by Ifeyinwa Arinze. Theme song is Ayo by Femi Leye

Happy 2018! On this episode (the last one recorded in 2017) we speak with Sarah (sarahadeyinka.com) a humanitarian worker who works with migrants and victims of trafficking. She tells us about her experience working with Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) rescuing migrant boats in international waters. We talk about our understanding of trafficking, explore the motivations of migrants, unpack some (Nigerian) cultural norms that can be inhumane, and discuss the Libyan slave markets and factors that contributed to their presence.

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Resources

http://www.msf.org/en/article/libya-open-letter-european-governments-are-feeding-business-suffering

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/eu-malta-summit-leaders-warn-strand-thousands-refugees-libya-deal-concentration-camps-crisis-a7560956.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/refugee-crisis-migrants-libya-europe-eu-italy-abuse-torture-slavery-forced-labour-iom-report-msf-a7366361.html

http://www.sarahadeyinka.com/?p=424

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/14/nigerian-girls-young-13-increasingly-trafficked-italy-work-street/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/07/italy-investigating-deaths-of-nigerian-women-thought-to-have-been-murdered

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/aug/07/nigeria-trafficking-women-prostitutes-italy

My Family’s Slave (account of Filipino immigrant family with domestic worker slave) https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/06/lolas-story/524490/

This American Life episode about Eritrean migrants trapped in Sinai dessert https://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/502/this-call-may-be-recorded-to-save-your-life

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Listening to

Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong’s Ella & Louis Christmas (Album)

Travis Greene’s Crossover (Album)

Pentatonix’ Christmas albums

Michael Bublé’s Chrirstmas (Album)

BuzzFeed’s Thirst Aid Kit (Podcast)

Reading

Alyssa Cole’s An Extraordinary Union

Brené Brown’s Braving the Wilderness

Watching

Orphan Black’s Final Season (TV Show)

On this episode, the ladies of NYAC talk with Sarah Diouf, founder of Tongoro (an e-commerce fashion label in Dakar, Senegal), Noir (a lifestyle magazine)and Ifren Media company. We chat about how her identity has been shaped by multiple familial ties to several African countries, the origin story behind Tongoro, and her vision for products being "made in Africa."

(https://www.tongoro.com)

http://www.okayafrica.com/in-conversation-sarah-diouf-tongoro-young-african-creator/

Reading

- Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Listening

- Here and Now by Toulouse

- The Bloody Win by Tye Tribett

- Shokolokobangoshe by Jeff Akoh

On this episode of NYAC, the ladies chat with Ladi and Sam (two-thirds of the Road Preppers team)about Lara.ng, a chat-bot designed to provide transport information to individuals living within the Lagos metropolis. We learn about their professional careers prior to creating lara.ng, the necessary and intensive legwork required for data collection and how the chat-bot is sustained financially. Before the episode ends, the chat-bot's hair style gets critiqued, and suggestions are offered.

(Contact: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected])

Announcement: tiny.cc/thenigerianmanproject

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Reading

- Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

- Dreams From My Father by Barack Obama

- She's Not There by Jennifer Finney Boylan

- Startup CEO by Matt Blumberg

- Born a Crime by Trevor Noah

- Shoedog by Phil Knight

Watching

- Underground (TV Series)

- The Good place (Netflix Series)

- Queen Sugar (TV Series)

- Madiba (BET Limited Series)

Listening

- Eminem's Walk on Water (Song)

- Lecrae's All Things Work Together (Album)

- Daniel Caesar's Best Part (Song)

- Hardcore History (Podcast)

On this episode, we speak with Michael (@MichaelMaponga), actor and CEO of AfroLandTV, about his journey as an actor and entrepreneur. We chat about Hollywood’s portrayal of Africa, how to navigate being typecast, and what distinguishes his streaming platform, AfroLandTV, from similar sites. He tells us his criteria for classifying media as “premium African” content, the barriers to distributing African content, and his big dreams for African media in general and AfroLandTV in particular.

More Info about TEDxEuston: http://tedxeuston.com/#/events/metamorphosis

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Reading

- Roger Martin’s Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

- Shonda Rhimes’ Year of Yes

- Robert Greene’s The 48 Laws of Power

Watching

- This is It (Webseries)

- Baby Daddy (TV Series)

- Greenleaf (TV Series)

- Sense8 Season 2 (Netflix Series)

- Suits Season 7 (TV Series)

- Voltron (Cartoon Series)

Listening

- Jessica Bongos Broken to Peace

- Falz’s 27

- Nigerian Radio

- Asa’s Debut Album, Asa

- TD Jakes

On this episode our guest, Congolese American Salem Soni, recounts his experience fleeing The Congo with his family as political refugees and settling in America. He gives us some cliff notes on Congolese history and politics, tells us about his struggles fitting into his new home, talks about how erasing one’s identity is often a form of survival, and describes how being in community with other Africans helped revive that identity and pride.

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Reading:

- Donna Tartt’s Secret History

- Roxan Gay’s Bad Feminist, especially the essay “When We All Lose”

- Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist

- Cal Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You

Watching:

- Video of Jidenna, Major Lazer, Ice Prince’s Particula

- DJ Cuppy and Techno’s Green Light

- Netflix’s Master of None

- YouTube Series Shop Talk

- YouTube Series, Hot Ones

Listening To:

- Johnnyswim’s Albums

- Podcast The Afropreneur

On this week's episode, the ladies of NYAC chat with Nancy Adimora, editor of AFREADA, about her online literary platform, and her identity as a Nigerian born and raised in London. She spoke to us about how she started AFREADA (Africa + Reader), the necessity of accessible short stories written by Africans and her strong sense of identity as a Nigerian.

Resources:

www.afreada.com

www.brittlepaper.com

https://soundcloud.com/mostlylitpod

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Reading:

- What It Mean When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah

- A Moonless, Starless Sky by Alexis Okeowo

- Men, Women and the Mystery of Love by Edwards S. Rogers III

Watching:

- Skinny Girl in Transit [YouTube]

- Transparent [Amazon]

Listening:

- The Color in Anything by James Blake [album]

- Love & Hate by Michael Kiwanuka [album]

On this week's episode, the ladies of NYAC chat with Dimma Umeh, a Nigerian beauty blogger, who spoke frankly about her journey to YouTube, which involved ditching a Masters in Accounting. She also gave tips for growing one's online audience and discussed the amount of work necessary to create quality and consistent visual work. Plus, the ladies all chimed in to dissect the beauty standards in Nigeria, the glorification of “yellow pawpaw” women in Nigerian songs and our makeup choices (from selective to carefree).

Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r72NRuzf_GU

https://afreada.com

http://brittlepaper.com

https://africanbookaddict.com

https://www.ifeyinwaarinze.com

Mostly Lit Podcast

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Reading:

-I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

-The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

-An Extraordinary Union by Alyssa Cole

Watching:

-Game of Thrones

-Stranger Things

-Breaking Bad

-Power

-Insecure

Listening:

-Artists: Pink, Housefires, Worship Central, Elevation Worship,

-Hello Maker by Bright City

-In Memory of Forgetting by Wanawana

-Lost Boy by Ruth B

Let’s talk about sex, baby! On this episode, we are joined by public intellectual Keguro (@Keguro_) as we explore sex, sexuality and gender using the knowledge of how our ancestors viewed and practiced the erotics as the main point of reference. We ask ourselves, what informs our idea of sexuality and gender? How do our ancestors’s views and practiceof the erotics differ from those of the west? How do they differ from contemporary African practices of the erotics? Who are the people taken seriously as those who have knowledge about sexuality and gender? How should our knowledge of how our ancestors view and practice erotics inform our present day, especially how we relate to and be in community with gender and sexual minorities?

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Resources:

- Osunality, or African Sensuality: Going Beyond Eroticism: https://www.africaknowledgeproject.org/index.php/jenda/article/view/776

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RWL

Reading

- Janet Mock’s Surpassing Certainty and Redefining Realness

Watching

- Game of Thrones Season 7

- TIERS Nigeria’s Everything in Between

- Bachelor in Paradise

- Insecure

Listening to

- Sauti Soul’s Live and Die in Afrika

- Ric Hassani’s An African Gentleman

- Cardi B’s Bodak Yellow

- Zebra Katz’ Ima Read

- Daniel Caesar’s Freudian