If I was your man

If I was your man things would be so much easier, sun will set and the moon will rise with a gentler ease,

They will cease to tease one another over fluid conversations about alternate realities...

Things will gently fall into place, like two autumn leaves cascading ever so gallingly

They will spend a love-time suspended in the air, an old woman in the park will wonder which will touch the ground first.

Her patience wears thin before either does.

The leaves would dance and spin around each other to the sweet humming of the wind.

They’d nestle as they plunge, you can see their hands as they clasp each other

The grip will be desperate; both play martyr as they toss and turn, trying to stop the other from hitting the ground first.

If I was your boyfriend you’d know how that feels

The sacrifice it takes to hold back even though the inside cries you could love her more...

You’d be the naive part of her

The one that inspires when she’s in a rot, she’d be able to plunge into every night with you

Both explore the mind’s forest, you’d be each other’s secrets

She’d try to hide you even from herself

You’d marry her

She’d be your wife

You would both snuggle into each other under the tree

The wind will play your wedding song

First dance will be your last

She’d cry, you’d dry her tears

She’d wish for the times she was still a blossom

And you were young enough brush against her on the branches

We use to wait for everyone else to fall asleep

Under the glow of the moon we’d share metaphors

You’d wish you were bolder

She’d wish you both fell from the branches sooner.

Why I Rate Luther

I must concede, I was late-comer in the drove of revellers who gathered on social networks on Tuesday evenings, they would dance around my timeline, two stepping a stream of ‘Why Luther’ ‘Don’t Luther’, one over-emotional online social reveller quipped; ‘No LUTHER...I HATE YOU...AND I LOVE YOU...SO CONFLICTED!!!’   I never really quite understood why ...

Quite recently I decided to join this proverbial wagon, after all I love crime thrillers,  as a fan of the genre I remember being heavily engrossed as a youngster in John Grisham novels and gothic comic  flicks about capped crusaders dishing out ‘my kind of justice’.  I’ve always found narratives that delve into the perversion of law by those seemingly charge with upholding going against those hell bent on opposing  it very fascinating, I guess when one really explores them you’re posed with this conceptual, alternative and often more proficient  way of approaching law and order. I guess the fascination is all so common because television and film in the past decade has been overwhelmed with variations of crusaders and conflicted do-gooders dishing out what I can only again call ‘my kind of justice’. ‘Dexter’ a popular series by Showtime conveys such narrative, a man consumed with the need to killing channelling his demons towards more deserving victims; criminals who have side stepped the clumsy clutches of the law. If only there was a Dexter in Florida in this moment in time....now wouldn’t that be something.  Luther is a series that not only ticks this box, it does so ever so refreshingly, I was sceptical prior to watching Luther that the BBC series would fall short,  the opening scenes of Luther alone suggested scepticism were unjust, by the end of the first season I was a ‘believer’.

Now what makes Luther interesting is not only the concept; maverick Black law enforcer hell bent on taking three steps backwards before making one gigantic leap to clear his obstacles, the production value and writing is also superb, Neil Cross the man that was also behind another BBC series ‘Spooks’ has a way of presenting shocking crime scenes with an air of fairy tale innocence,  the big bad wolf is the latest perpetrator and the pretty little white girls are...well pretty little white women.  This brief visitation to early childhood scary stories mixed with very modern and very real crimes leaves you in an eerie state of disillusion, you watch on as recognisable London settings are transformed into a playground of doom and tragedy, a vision you realise isn’t as strange and surreal as you might like to think. The constant shift in plot is compelling, all the main characters matter and some come back to haunt the narrative, this makes Luther a unique viewing and is one of the reasons why many herald it as ‘dark, daft and dazzling’, the Heritage after predicting it would be a flop recanted, going on to say it was a ‘slightly sillier Silence of the Lambs’, anyone who has seen the Jonathan Demme’s film will know how huge of a compliment this is.   

Art imitates life and in a more digital age life is beginning to replicate art, we are being sucked into this cyclical whirlwind where what we see on popular media educates the masses on how this shapes how we judge and interact with one another. Luther is a great show because it is a popular and successful BBC series that has a Black man sitting atop it’s mantle, Idris Elba rose to prominence after playing ‘Stinger Bell’ in the infamous HBO crime drama ‘The Wire’, since then he has gone on to star in many more shows and films before returning to London to head the cast in this eponymous series. The image of Luther alone is a triumph, unlike his predecessor ‘Mickey Bricks’ played by Adrian Lester he wasn’t a Black man previously incarcerated, a Black man who makes a living from being a con artist and evading the clumsy clutch of the law (which is becoming increasingly thematic I might add) Luther, the character is a distinguished man of the law, someone who shows almost near abnormal strength and intelligence when it comes to outsmarting the sadistic men he crosses path with. His character explores spaces and ideas we’re not use to associating with Black men, he is charge with heading a predominantly white crime unit, he is an ex husband who is presented as a constant emotional obstacle to his white ex wife’s pursuit of a more normal stable passionless relationship with a new man, he also has a paternal relationship with a sexually troubled white girl – ultimately cohabiting with her acting as a guardian and protector, these are all unfamiliar territory for Black men – well so we are told. Luther allows us to engage in discussions about how Black men are perceived in society and to really analyse this theory of their ever evolving roles in society in direct collision and contradiction to a very stagnate reality. A friend of mine succinctly summarised his opinion of Luther in his Facebook status;

‘Over the last week I finally decided to see what all this Luther stuff was about and watched the first two series - in conclusion, Luther saves white women, gets slapped by white men, gets bad people like an unstable donkey. Vaguely interesting TV. I'm hooked.’

This statement invited an interesting discussion on the conceptual and cultural (or lack of) themes around Luther we discussed whether or not Luther the character was written as a white man or a Black man, did Idris Elba benefit from the process of colour-blind casting.  If the character of Luther indeed was written for a white man then how valid can any claim we have to the moral victory of the character be, equally are Black men exonerated from being synonymously condemned by an ills Luther might commit in the show, it will be futile to resist the notion that with millions of impressionable British viewers watching, whatever the character of Luther does on screen will have a level of influence on how Black men are perceived.   

What we can take from Luther is that it allows us to discuss, we explore the content and context suitably, I extol the series and all those involved in creating a brilliant product, however unfinished or unfurnished Luther’s character development might be, we can commend their commitment to the genre, we watch on us we hope the writers can fill us in and address the cultural blanks, until then continue to enjoy Elba’s brilliant performance, he really is in his element when he plays Luther and his portrayal is the biggest triumph here and an inspiration to any London based actor. He shows immense talent has he manages to evolve this Luther character into this singular fusion of Jekyll and Hyde and we watch on nervously just like the other characters around him, never quite sure what Luther we’re going to get.

Whether Luther was written to be white, Black or other a friend of mine provided a more interesting perspective, he said and I loosely quote; ‘Luther is a Londoner first...everything else falls secondary’.

If you don’t already watch the series, I suggest you book a day off and get up to speed. 

Luther can be seen online if you look hard enough, also on LoveFilm and I think it's on Netflix.

Peace. 

Sophia

Are you ever reminscent of sunnier summer breaks?
Bike rides furiously on estate curbs
And there she was;
Young Sophia
Freckled skin hides behind large framed lenses
Hair in innocent ponytail
She's Dominican?
Island girl
Her mum was aunty Bessy, her brother my best friend;
Amen
Sofia was my first crush, first love
Ode to Sophia
Can we journey back in time when it all seemed so easy
I won her heart from dangerous manouevres 
I'd peddle in great speed towards her
Then just before she and I thought love will collide in a fateful tragedy
Right hand break will swerve into a gradual skid
I'd smile
Never lost that boyish charm of mine
She'd offer me her hand to kiss.

I never did kiss it
I was never noble enough to kiss my Sophia
Sophia was dream to boys who star gazed at night
Their nocturnal ways obstructing visions of true love
They'd lay still at night feeling echoes of her absence
It vibrates gently on their back
Soothes them even
Ode to Sophia 
A gentle lullaby
Until one night they can fall asleep again
The patient dream Sophia waits.


------------------

The Beat - Song for Ife

It’s all in the hips she said

How the swaying leads to the dips she said

Like the way there’s a curve in our lips she said

When one prepares for a kiss she said

Now I know it’s one of those that must be said

When an African muses on the drum she said

There’s a spiritual evoke it provokes she said

The finesse in the balance in the stroke she saidSee the secret is in me she said

Way before I knew me was me she said

I guess my mother knew, she must have knew she said

The way she crept in the shadows and she stared she said

Mother had the fear she said

The fear that man couldn’t comprehend she said

Their eyes on my guise and their lies she said

Mother said it’s about time I realised she said

And that aroused a pain in me she said

It’s like I was to blame she blamed me she said

That her husband came after me she said

Old husband wanted me and not her she said

Every night it was me she said

And every cry was from me she said

I would close my eyes and ask mother why she said

Why she crept in the shadows and just watched she said

And I knew she was watching she said

Her eyes were unnerved as she watched she said

and her fist ooo her fist they were clutching she said

And when it was all over mother said NOTHING she said

so it’s one of those things that must be said

When an African muses on the drum she said

A young girl muses on the drum she said

An old man plays the beats on the drum she said

Umoja - Review

The show opens with a salvo of drum patterns, huge men beat ferociously as if the decades of oppression they endured were now bundled into the hollow depths of this instrument they played.

This is "Umoja" we're told by our narrator Gregory Mkhabla, a man who I can only liken to a sub Saharan Morgan Freeman with his deeply melancholy voice, he goes on to explain; " it is a word from Swahili meaning togetherness", and there was a familial togetherness on stage as we had glimpses of a past Zulu nation, a nation that roared with sheer vigour and power. The men, spear in one hand and shield in the other leapt and tumbled, their chests pounded with intent and they grappled each other for respect and honour. The women, exposed to the world were vivid, their guise tempting and voices rejoiced in unison as they beautifully harmonised the spirit of togetherness through musical number and dance. Occasionally they will spill out into the auditorium in full glory, unapologetic, vibrant and intimidating as if to reclaim a land that once belonged to them; this was evident in the wildness in their eyes.

Many are aware of the story of Apartheid and political fraction in South Africa; Film, Art and Theatre have all played their part in contributing to this discourse. I remember none more fondly than Sarafina; a musical by Mbongeni Ngema depicting students involved in the Soweto Riots, in opposition to apartheid. Umoja, however doesn't fall into that category, in fact, it did everything it possibly could to sway away from the politics and harsh reality of living in South Africa, instead what we have is the optimist's approach, satirical reflection of mainstream South African culture and the decision to revel in wondrous discovery of Sheebebs underground clubs where, we're told, the likes of Miriam Makeba and the Soul Brothers careers were birthed.

Todd Twala's choreography although engaging at first became repetitive and all too predictable, the music seemed at its best in the first half when the richness of African voices flowed easily and with cadence to traditional music, the transition into contemporary Kwaito seemed unnatural and the Gospel explosion turned our spirited songstress into Sister Mary Clarence.

This didn't matter however, what we saw was a new nation celebrating its history, their spirit relentless and passion uninhibited. Their message was clear and poignant; it's the past and present that makes us great, the spirit of Umoja travels through time and on a night where sub zero temperature battered the streets of London, I was at least grateful to be transported to a warmer climate.

Booking until February 19, Box Office: 0844 412 4300

Nostagic blues....

Just over a year ago I embarked on a journey in New York... this was a personal reflection I shared amongst friends...enjoy

I wake up early most morning on my single bed to a hesitant New York sunrise, I say hesitant because the sun here seems to seep conveniently slowly into my room, a welcomed change to what I’m used to because sometimes I like to play mental games with myself and try to guess how many things I can get done, or how many of my friends birth date I can recall before the natural light fully illuminates my room. Most mornings though, I just like to sit there and imagine – reminisce - think about the busy London life and everyone’s individual strives, I know you’re thinking I’ve only been away for a couple of weeks and it’s way too early to be hit by the waves of nostalgia, but I guess I’m the eternal sentimentalist and for us it’s never too early.

I set out on the streets of Greenwich Village, downtown Manhattan, New York – the concrete Jungle, never before has a metaphor been used to greater effect, this place really is a place for David Attenborough to commentate over; the cloudy mist from sewers almost swamp like and human beings flocking from busy intersections like herds of gazelles avoiding the dangerous clutches of yellow beasts on four wheels, well unless you actually want to catch one. Like the Jungle it all seems to work and coincide together, the historical landmarks and new memorials, the eccentricity of busy Harlem nights and corporate Wall Street mornings, it all seems to make sense in this eclectic metropolis full of power and history, laughter and pain, purpose and desire... I think they call it the concrete Jungle because I don’t think you can ever find a place that blatantly conflicts with the needs of a natural world but still feels so natural.

I study at New York University or NYU as it’s commonly known, at the TISCH school of the arts, the artistic director of my course is Spike Lee, the Spike Lee bit has no relevance to what I’m about to say but just thought I should throw it out there. The course itself is ‘Graduate Filmmaking’, it’s a MFA which is sort of like a masters but not really (http://gradfilm.tisch.nyu.edu/object/MFAFilm.html), as well as this I’m doing a intensive creative writing course as a supplement. The course is tough but very insightful, it’s a three year course but I’ve been fortunate to learn the second year of the course which tailors to what I want to do - documentary. I am loving every moment of learning here, and what’s actually amazing is I am actually learning, I’m learning beyond what’s being taught in class and my daily interactions with new friends and class mates is really giving me greater insight into my work and how I want to develop as an artist.

I'll finish this rather prompt reflection with a simple message for all my friends in the creative field; we’re going to make great impacts on this industry...

Trust me we will.

Ola Malachi Masha

Success and Sabotage of Lovers Rock. How Positive Black Films get Blocked, Messed up and Messed around

The Story of Lovers Rock is a film made by Menelik Shabbaz about a type of music known as Romantic Reggae and the associated lifestyle and culture of the black community in England in the 1970's/80's.
Mr Shabbbaz is an award-winning filmmaker who was never privileged and patronised in the same way that white directors of less stature have been. Lovers Rock is his first film for fifteen years, it was refused funding by all of the major arts and culture funding bodies who came up with a list of excuses ; not relevant, no market, too niche, not really history, etc. Mr Shabbaz and his team went to the community and repeatedly asked for investors. Despite getting full houses and rapturous applause at several preview screenings at the BFI and the Coronet, people were long on talk but short on pulling their pockets. Fifty thousand pounds was the amount in question. Mr Shabbaz persevered, completed the film despite several last minute obstacles and amazingly managed to secure a distribution deal which meant that a company would assist in placing the film in cinemas across the country. This in itself is unusual as many black films never get
distributed and are shown once or twice if at all before disappearing. The result is that people never get to enjoy, learn or benefit from the those films and there is no box office results to prove such films sell. This then puts off distributors from distributing such films and producers/studios from making such films in the first place.
Mr Shabbaz and his team got the Story of Lovers Rock on a number of screens across the country. This is what happened next..

* Cinemas did not display the Lovers Rock poster in advance or on the day
* Cinemas did not have the film listed on their own website or on their printed programme
* Cinema staff did not know that the film was on in their cinema
* Cinemas did not include the film in their weekly mail out to their regular customers
* Cinemas did not play the trailer for Lovers Rock before the main feature in advance of the film opening as normally happens
* Cinemas that were showing the film did not take delivery of the film or if the film failed to arrive at the stated time did not chase up the distributors they just cancelled the show even though people had booked in advance to see it
* Cinemas agreed to one or two screenings at weird times like 1.30pm on a Monday

No room on screen for loving black couples.
All of the above happened before and even after the screenings began to sell out.
Lovers Rock has been selling out 400 seat cinemas at 11.30pm 7.30pm on weekdays and weekends. Lovers Rock attendance and box office takings have beaten Hollywood blockbusters on at the same venue such as Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy. This is incredible as Tinker had heavy TV, Radio, billboard and newspaper advertising whereas Lovers Rock has none of that. Lovers Rock has had people being turned away at the door and dancing in the aisles. Cinemas were approached to screen the film or extend the run. This is what happened next...
* Cinemas said no
* That they couldn’t see the point
* That they weren’t sure if the film was 'right'
* That it wasn’t worth the risk
* That they weren’t sure if there was any interest
* That they couldn’t put up posters as the directors name was spelt incorrectly
* That they might give it one more day maybe
* That they would definitely show it.. At 1.30pm on a Monday and Tuesday
This is the treatment that a successful independent black film that is making money is getting. Does this happen to Harry Potter? What is the problem? Why would you refuse to screen a film that is making money? Is it that the film shows black people in an accurate and positive light? Why would a film that is making money at 7.30pm on a Thursday be given a follow up slot at 1.30pm on a Monday afternoon when most people are at work or school?
Spike Lee's film about heroic black soldiers in World War 2 Miracle at Santa Anna was blocked by its European distributors because they didn’t 'like' the film. Mr Lee took them to court and won 45 million dollars in compensation.
Oprah Winfrey’s and Denzel Washington’s Great Debaters, about black academic success, which made a profit of 15 million dollars was never even released here. Jumping the Broom an African American romantic

This image is not wanted in the UK.

Comedy shows loving black families getting married. It made 31 million US dollars and got to number 3 in the US charts but will not be released in this country. Shirley Chisholm the amazing and inspirational story about the first black woman to run for President was never released here. Perhaps it was because these films have an all black cast and the majority white population is not interested in seeing black people on the big screen. In which case how is it that 50 Cents Get Rich or Die Trying got released nationwide ? It was the story of drug dealing/prostitute mum who gets murdered and her son and his drug dealing criminal associates who get killed before he becomes a rapper. Precious a film about a homeless, illiterate, overweight black teenager who is the victim of rape and pregnancy twice by her father and physical/emotional abuse by her mother; which has a scene where black women are compared to dogs was on 447 screens across the
country. American Gangster, starring Denzel Washington, about a drug-dealing gangster who flooded Harlem with heroin in the 70's was also on general release. Attack the Block was Joe Cornish' first ever film. As a white director he had no problem getting 6 million pounds to make a film with a majority black cast. In the film we are introduced to a mostly black criminal gang as they rob a white woman with a hint of wishing to rape her, then the lead black youth goes to his local drug lord where he gets promoted to a drug dealer. He and his mates are quite happy about this. The only thing that stops him drug dealing is the arrival of aliens from outer space. By the way, the aliens from outer space are 'black' 'So black you can’t see!' and ‘Blacker than my cousin Femi' according to the script. The black male lead ends up in prison. This film was heavily advertised and made the top ten. What does this say about the film industry and British culture?

Lovers Rock is out now if you haven’t seen it... We are also holding a private screening this Friday in view of encouraging attendees to go out challenge this anomaly.