New novel: 'Love Me' By Gemma Weekes

You know you've discovered a great book when you mourn the day you finish reading it. I had this very experience recently after completing Gemma Weekes's awesome debut novel, 'Love Me'. Set between London and New York the book introduces us to a spunky young protagonist named Eden who fancies the pants off a childhood friend, but has to contend with him getting it on with her former work mate, who just so happens to be a professional model. After trying in vain to to make said male friend see the error of his ways, she flees to NYC downtrodden and broken hearted. When she arrives she discovers that her crush has also taken a sabbatical to the Big Apple, and is living under the same roof. Together they are forced to  deal with their issues of the past and decide once and for all on the course of their relationship. 

Although it all sounds a little 'chick lit' in description, 'Love Me' delves a whole lot deeper. What starts off as a traditional romance novel slowly changes course as we learn about the source of  Eden's obsessive nature: a by-product of the unrequited love she experienced from her mother during her childhood. Author, Gemma Weekes is from a poetry background so her writing style is very emotive and lyrical. But it's not all doom and gloom. There are more than a few 'laugh out loud' moments, and Eden is a worthy heroine who is bold, brave, feisty and outspoken. The book is out in January 2009 but you can pre-order a copy at www.amazon.co.uk 

Love Me, Gemma Weekes, published by Chatto & Windus (Random House Group) 

Claudia Jones honoured on postage stamp

Civil Rights activist Claudia Jones is being honoured via a series of stamps produced by the Royal Mail. As part of the Women of Distinction series, Claudia along with five other women is being recognised for her lifetime achievements.

Claudia is one of our pre-eminent black sheroes in this country. Born in Trinidad, she was raised in Harlem, NY before moving to the UK in 1955. From her base in Notting Hill she fought tirelessly for the rights of the black community and is also responsible for organising the first ever Notting Hill Carnival. In addition, the industrious activist also created the first-ever black newspaper in Britain, The West Indian Gazette. The stamps are on sale now.

Back to UK Blak - Neneh Cherry (Manchild)

Before there was a Kelis, MIA or any of those alternative types of chicks, there was Neneh Cherry. Bursting onto the scene in the late eighties sporting stretched lycra, thick gold rope chains, and a huge baby bump to boot, she shook up the British music industry up with her unique hybrid of soul, hip-hop and pop. I didn’t quite get Neneh at first. I hated Buffalo Stance, although I can probably recite the song lyric for lyric to this day. However, under my school mate Rachel’s insistence, I finally succumbed and bought the album Raw Like Sushi, and transformed overnight into a bonafide fan. Manchild is one of my favourites. Indeed the video was random and strange, but it was also inventive which was kinda fitting of her offbeat personality. I used to have the very same style leggings that she’s wearing in the clip, which I would rock with some battered Reebok trainers. On occasion I would attempt to do the whole figure hugging mini dress with trainers too but would get dissed severely, and being the sensitive soul I was back then, stopped immediately. 

P.S. Her son must be a big man now. 

Do you know where you're going to?

Is it me or is Tyra going a bit cuckoo? Each season I watch America’s Next Top Model with quiet bemusement as her crazy ramblings, onscreen antics, and fashion choices all fight to outdo one another. When she posed as Michelle Obama in the Vanity Fair spread a few months ago I thought to myself ‘here we go again’. But it seems as if Miss Ty Ty was merely getting started. The mogul model recently channelled Diana Ross in her iconic seventies cult film ‘Mahogany’, in a series of images for fashion bible, V magazine. Now I’ve yet to see Mahogany, although I desperately wanted to as a youngster when I was a hardcore Diana Ross fan. The film was Diana’s follow up to her Oscar nominated role in Lady Sings the Blues, in which she portrayed a fashion model/designer from humble beginnings who buckles under the pressure of fame. Mmm, maybe Tyra is trying to tell us something. Read the story here.

How do we solve a problem like the Mobos?

Estelle hits the red carpet (sourced at www.popsugar.com) 

The Mobo Awards took place last night at Wembley Arena, and as per usual, made headlines for all the wrong reasons. Leona Lewis was booed severely for not being there to collect her two gongs. As were Lil’ Wayne and Dizzee Rascal. Tim Westwood also felt the wrath of the crowd even though he was there in the flesh to collect his gong (maybe that was the problem, lol). In fact, it seemed as if only Estelle and the nominated radio/club DJ’s could be bothered to turn up. I know it’s all too easy to fall into the familiar habit of dissing the Mobos, but I don’t think the organisers were to blame this year. Despite the no-shows, as a ceremony it certainly has upped it’s game. The stage set was great – all colourful and futuristic looking. Mel B and Rev Run ended up being quite a good hosting team, bouncing off one another, and appearing quite natural as opposed to those horrific, staged gags we witnessed from Shaggy and Jamelia last year *brrr, still shuddering at the memory as I write this*. The presenters were a good mix of singers, actors, and sports personalities. Estelle and the Sugarbabes put in some solid performances. Craig David & Stryder Man were also surprisingly entertaining, and I'm now pleading Craigee boy to return to his garage/emceeing roots. It was great to see Yolanda Brown receive the award for Best Jazz Artist because she’s certainly put in the work – yay, go girl! Okay, so admittedly there were a few boo boos along the way. I could barely watch Mary Wilson’s cringe inducing Supremes medley because I felt so bad for her. Talk about coming across like a drunken auntie at a Christening.

But while I can’t really find fault with the show as a production, it still managed to fall pretty flat simply because of the amount of absentees. I mean, would Leona Lewis not turn up to the Brits? I guess in all honesty we shouldn’t be too surprised by her absence. She is being marketed as a straight up pop artist, so chances are her management couldn’t give two hoots about a black music awards show. But what about Dizzee? He soooo should have been there (Estelle was on tour too, but still made it a point to show up). If the UK artists can’t be bothered to turn up, how can we expect the international acts to feel the need to get on a plane? Speaking of which,  it's such a shame the organisers didn't bring Mavado over, a live performance would've brought the house down, did you hear the reception he received when he won the Best Reggae Award? It's frustrating because the show has such potential, and without a doubt is still very much needed in this country. So come on, artists and audiences alike, let's show our support and help to re-inject some much needed credibility. If the Mobos were to be axed we’d be the first ones up in arms bemoaning the fact that there is lack of support for  black music/artists.

Here's a list of who won what! 

Michael X - as told by Vanessa Walters

If you are in London over the next few weeks you must support Vanessa Walter’s new play ‘Michael X’ based on the tumultuous life of Britain’s most notorious Black activist, Michael Freitas AKA Michael X. I recently wrote a piece about Michael in Pride magazine, and even after completing the article I was none the wiser about this enigmatic character. Hustler, activist, pimp, murder - are just some of the tags that Michael adorned. But with so much of his character left in the hands of unscrupulous tabloid hacks, I’m ever curious about discovering who he really was. Vanessa is a friend of mine so I’ll admit I’m slightly biased, but I’m pretty certain that she will produce a provocative, well-written and emotive piece of work. The play is showing between November 6 – 27 at the Tabernacle, Powis Square, W11. You can book tickets on www.carnivalvillage.org.uk 

Black Girls - a documentary

I can't recall ever seeing a film or documentary dedicated solely to the lives of Black British females, so it was with great excitement that I clicked onto this You Tube snippet which arrived in my Facebook inbox a few days ago. Directed by up and coming filmmaker, Chris Scott, I caught up him to find out the impetus behind such a unique piece. Chris explained, "The BLACK GIRLS documentary is an idea I have had for over 2 years and after a long work trip to Philadelphia earlier this year, I came back with the energy to realise this project. The idea of the documentary is to give Black Women a platform to discuss whatever they wish - to share thoughts and feelings with the world and each other. Whether it's to celebrate, commemorate or discuss. Personal, political or topical Issues of any kind. For the first time ever, a Black woman feels she is being taken seriously and is both the central source of the information and can be confident about the integrity of the information output." 

Sounds good. So far there are no details on screenings and so forth, but I will of course provide updates as and when they arrive.