Friday, July 31, 2009

Picture of the Day


PICTURE OF THE DAY: Lagos, Nigeria. This photo is taking by my friend. And I must say she's very beautiful - the girl in the picture. According to my friend there were almost no beautiful women in Nigeria. But I'm pretty sure she's totally wrong. I would say the opposite! :) Nigeria has some of the most beautiful women in the world. But my friend is a girl, and white. So how could she understand. LOL

Black is beautiful - all shades

Got this e-mail:

"...i felt proud to be a black woman seeing all the beautiful pictures of my race while scrolling down your webpage until i got to the picture of beyonce and saw how you spoke of her. I am a faired skin african american woman who gets treated the same as a dark skinned black woman..."

Get me right now - i love black women - light skinned, medium skinned, dark skinned (or whatever you wanna call it). Thats is all true. But my topic about Beyonce etc was about black women trying to look like white women. That is something I'm not a big fan of. To be honest I cant even understand why a black woman, as this earth's most beautiful "creation" (my own personal statement), want to look more white? I like it natural. Black and natural. That is beautiful to me.

No, no black women in Latvia


As you all might know, I visit a friends who lives in Riga - capital of Latvia. This is the former Soviet Union. To the east of Sweden. The so-called Eastern Europe. I had hear lots of stuff about this country before my little trip there. No black citizen what so ever. And I must confess, I was in a little "shock" when I realized that this fact was almost 100% true. During my stay for like 5 days, I (listen know) saw 4 black people in the capital city of Latvia. FOUR. And listen to this. One was some jazz singer on a poster (yes, on a poster). And one was a black women (by the way, very beautiful :)) working at the cabin crew on the flight taking me back home. So that makes it 2 black people in 5 days. A woman and her child. I cant believe it. Riga is far far far the most homogene country I every visit. And Latvia is only like one hour away from Sweden. Crazy, crazy.

Guess I was kinda glad getting back home to Sweden. I realized "whoooa, there are a lot of beautiful black women in Sweden" :) I mean, in Sweden I would, if Im now comparing it to Latvia, see at least 500-1000 black people a day.

So, my advice, don't go to Latvia or the Eastern Europe! :D Come to Sweden instead!!! LOL

Saturday, July 25, 2009

BIG-UP 2: A Good thing

Hey yall! Sitting here with my good friend. And I gotta give a little big-up to his project. Time to promote the good things! :) Its an humanitarian aid project to the children of DR Congo!

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Tenin, location unknown

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Sally Nyolo, Cameroon/France, artist - and a part of one of my favorite groups - Zap Mama

"What I would like to do is bring sounds from Africa and bring it to the Western world, because I know that through sound and through beats, that people discover a new culture, a new people, a new world."
- Zap Mama

PS: Read more below - on Cameroon & Beauty! :)

Insight: Cameroon


I've lived my life in a "mist". I didnt know... ehmm.. how should I say this. I knew about Cameroon and of course the women of Cameroon are beautiful. But I didnt know they were SO beautiful. Saw this girl from Cameroon here in Stockholm, Sweden - guess she was visiting some swedish friends. Any how - she was a TRUE beauty. I was like in a trance. So cute, so beautiful. Those beautiful eyes, that dark skin beauty. And I will never see her again. LOL ...aaaaaw! :D But at least I learnt something from it. Cameroon has got very beautiful women!

Summer time...

Long time no see. It's summer here in Sweden (as for the rest of the northern part of this planet I assume) and it's vacation time. That's why I've been a bit "offline". But I'll be back, when you least expect it! :)

Guess what, tomorrow I'm goin' to visit a friend in Riga, Lativa (former Soviet union)... and trust me, I'm not sure if Im gonna like it there. I've heard stuff like, there are NO black citizen att all there. And I mean NONE. Thats strange, crazy and scary. But at least I gotta see the old eastern european block/Soviet style! LOL

Sometimes you realize, home isnt that bad after all... :)

Till next time, Stay real!

/Andreas

Friday, July 17, 2009

BIG-UP 2: Queen Ifrica


Wanna give a big-up to Queen Ifrica and her new album (since one month ago) "Montego Bay". I've loved her vibe since day one, and this new album is wicked! :)

Listening to the track "Far Away" right now...

Longing...


Im longing for the Caribbean (specially St Maarten)... aaaaw... thats where I belong! :)

Picture from Maho Beach, St Maarten. Model unknown.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Unknown beauty

Picture of the Day


PICTURE OF THE DAY: Just a beautiful photo shoot - very vibeful! :) 

In picture: Nana Yaa, Candace and Doris

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Nancy, location unknown

BIG-UP 2: Alain Paris


Gotta give a big-up to the french (I think...) photographer Alain Paris and his very beautiful and sensual pictures. Love the vibe in them. And he got a "thing" for the beautiful black woman, trust me! :) Check his photos at: www.alainparis.com

Word of the Day: Oyibo


Learnt a new word today! Oyibo (Oyinbo). Apparently it means "white man/european man" (and also woman) in Yoruba, the nigerian language. Not sure if it's a good word, but I guess it's good to know if I ever go to Nigeria (which I by the way allways wanted) :D

Monday, July 13, 2009

This blog...


Just letting all of you know (some maybe dont get it) but this blog is about Uplifting the Black Woman. :)

Leela


Just a few days left. When Leela James is entering the stage of Stockholm Jazz Festival 2009. And I gotta say, Leela is probably one of the most beautiful women I ever seen. Aaaaaw... LOL

Just had to say it! :)

BTW: Am I the only one who can hear a bit of a mix between Chaka Khan and Tina Turner in Leela's voice?! :D

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Sylvia Olaye Owen Oluwole, Austria 

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Tona, Angola

Big-up 2: Ntozake Shange & Paul Davis


Just was stunned by this artwork. Its a deepness in it. A vibeful, colorful touch, and at the same time something deeper and sad. Now I must confess I havent seen Ntozake Shange's play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf - a twenty part poem chronicling the lives of black females in the United States. And I must give big-up to artist behind the poster - Paul Davis.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Mathapelo M, South Africa

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Ashanti K, South Africa

LIVE: MJ Tribute

I know this is not really the focus on this blog, but I gotta show my respect to the late Michael Jackson - with this Michael Jackson Tribute - "Beat it" LIVE from Stockholm City, Sweden, yesterday (8th of July)! Check it out! 100 peeps from the swedish dance crew Bounce on the main square and in the central station.



Youtube: Michael Jackson Tribute - Live in Stockholm

Germany's Next Top Model: Sara Nuru


Allways good to hear about this - Sara Nuru, with ethiopian roots, was crowned Germany's Next Top Model a few weeks ago. The 19-year-old fashion model from Munich, whose parents immigrated from Ethiopia, has earned the nickname “Sunshine” from Germany’s Next Top Model, and was wildly popular with her competitors.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: "Dimediva", USA

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Nakanai, USA

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Neenee Assmembly, USA

GOOD VIBE: Uppsala Reggae Festival

Finally it's here. For me it's been like a tradition everytime the posters for "Uppsala Reggae Festival" (Swedish festival) are coming. Last years artwork were amazing, but I must say this years is at the same level. That ruff, oldschool touch that feels like the poster has been sitting on a wall somewhere in Ethiopia since early 80's - love that vibe! :)

And a very beautiful peice of art.

The line up for this years festival isn't bad either: Third World, Junior Kelly, Collie Buddz, Etana, Lutan Fyah, TOK...

And they put the positive vibe on front:
"There are so many wonderful things in the world, but we need to help each other understand and appreciate them. Therefore Uppsala Reggae Festival encourages all reggae media and festivals to challenge their audience to share the joy and optimism in a creative and generous manner." - Yared Tekeste, founder of Uppsala Reggae Festival to Jamaica Observer

PS: And last year's Festival Poster - an legendary artwork! 

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Blessing Bassey, Nigeria

PS: Love her name - Blessing - i it's for real! :)

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

BIG-UP 2: Sara Tavares


Just heard about this very talented portugese singer today. Sara Tavares. Probably well-known to you, but I was like "Whoa, what a smooth voice" The track a friend of mine played was "Bom Feeling" - got some caribbean vibes there! :)

Monday, July 6, 2009

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Unknown beauty

“We Don’t Want Black Women Selling Our Cosmetics”

This is not a news to a lot of people - black women are often under-represented in commercial ads. Why? As for me, working in the advertising industry, that is an "unspoken" fact. Okey, I live in a country like Sweden, mostly a white population, but the "multi culture" elements of this population is rising. I've even had customers that clearly said that "we can't have this little cute black girl on this brochure ... we want it to have a scandinavian touch". What's up with that?

This is probably the most "political correct" I can get (LOL) but why is it like this?

Now I just read about the french cosmetic giant that apparently said "they don't want black women selling their products..." They've had Beyonce among others to promote thier products. And I guess thats the "closest" they get to black. Never seen any dark-skinned models promoting them. Only time you see the beautiful black women in ads are if you are reading a VIBE, SOURCE etc or going to a "afro hair dresser". I know I'm looking at this topic in a very general way now, but still it's a interesting thought.

"French cosmetics giant, L'Oreal, who has hired Beyonce and other African-American personalities to front their products is in hot water. It's ok for us to peddle their products but not ok for us to work behind the scenes. The highest court in France determined that executives at Garnier, L"Oreal's beauty products division, intentionally created an all-White sales teams to promote their shampoos throughout the country, according to TimesOnline.com. Blacks, Asian and Middle Eastern women were hardly ever considered for hostess positions.

In fact, a fax was issued into evidence that requested hostesses must be between 18-22 years old, wear a European size 38-42 and be BBR. Apparently, BBR stands for "bleu, blanc, rouge" or French for "blue, white, red" the colors of their French flag which is also code for white people. This ends a three-year legal battle for the L'Oreal bosses who apparently were "disappointed" by the court's decision. They will now have to pay 30,000 Euros in fines and another 30,000 in damages.-WLW"

From Essence


Where the world meets Africa


Just wanna give a big-up to this new (2006) and excellent magazine - African Vibes. It's a pulse of the dynamic African culture. Check it out at www.africanvibes.com

ALL-NEW: Offical T-shirt



ALL-NEW! Finally got the last touch to it! :) So this is it! Two versions of the "official tee". Fly-fly-fly!!! :)

Get one now - check 'em out!


Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Natalie Olivia Griffith, Barbados

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Moniqué Bianca Clarke, Jamaica

Friday, July 3, 2009

Official Blackisbeautiful.se T-shirt


THIS ONE IS OFF - NEW ONES ABOVE

After getting numbers of requests of getting a "official" tee to this blog, I finally did it! :) Check it out and get your own.

Who knows, maybe there are coming more!

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Sera Lubowa, USA (Uganda)

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Beauty of the Moment


BEAUTY OF THE MOMENT: Lola Jordan, Switzerland

UPDATE: New design

Now the new "design" is here. And the new "logo"! Hope you are enjoying it - it's much more of a lighter feeling! Positive vibe. Stay tuned, yall!