This weeks artist is Angelique Kidjo. She's from Benin, which is an African nation squeezed between Togo and Nigeria, and she is an amazing, Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter. Her new album, Djin Djin is amazing and is all over my iTunes right now. Another great thing about her is that she is one of those artists who is committed to giving back to her community. She founded the Batonga Foundation, which helps girls in her country get through Secondary School so they can one day help to change African government. Strong black women are dope. Anyway go to her website and listen to her songs. She has this dope one with Joss Stone.
Now, for the bad news:
The economy is fucked. And there is nothing we can do about it. All this talk about the bailout being the panacea for our nations financial woes is bogus. First off, the United States government doesn't have $700 Billion. They have to sell Treasury Bonds to the same sleazy companies that got us in this position in the first place. That won't get started until, say, November 5th, and won't be able to help these companies (and us) until the New Year. By then, people will be really mad. And really broke. People you know have lost 20-40% of their pension funds due to this fiasco. And by people you know, I mean your parents and relatives. Scary, right? If you ask me, I say withdraw all your money from the bank, buy a mattress, and put what's left under it. As for me, I'm moving to Brazil. Or Iceland.
The good news: New voters are big time Obama fans. So, make sure that they remember to vote on Nov. 4. It might do us some good.
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3 comments:
it's awesome that new voters are Obama fans. but, apparently a number of swing states have blocked/removed thousands of voters. and given that a number of new registrants are Democrats...shady?? i think so. check it out below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09voting.html?ex=1381291200&en=d33d06adde38e20c&ei=5124&partner=facebook&exprod=facebook
i agree. that stuff is pretty foul and shady. i always feel like the government is trying to disenfranchise mad populations. i am not down. we just have to overwhelm the voting booths on election day.
Angelique Kidjo - awesome. I'm so glad to have found out about her. Her story is really inspiring too.
It would be great to go to her Carnegie Hall performance next month...I especially enjoyed her songs with Joss Stone and Alicia Keys, my favs.
My dad was always into world music, and would randomly come home with cds after spending hours at borders listening to them. One of my favorites is Alpha Blondy - he is from Cote d'Ivoire and basically sings reggae in French, English, and his native dialect.
Thanks for the new addition to my music collection!
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