Norwegian photojournalist Jonas Bendiksen spent six weeks living in the slums of Nairobi, then Caracas, Mumbai, and Jakarta. His remarkable panoramic images take us inside slum families’ lives, revealing the profound human impulse to fashion not only shelter but a home…
Check out the rest at:
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/11/03/planet_slum?page=0,0
darfur from Jobin Sam on Vimeo.
So, it’s been a hot minute since I posted anything but I thought this was worthy of some shine! Stay with my friend and colleague for 2 minutes and you won’t be disappointed. Protesting seems to be a highly contested issue these days and some feel it brings nothing but wasted time, energy and words but when people protest, others (those divorced from the situation) start talking, questioning and exploring the world around them and this critical thinking is where the seeds of change are planted. The conflict in Sri Lanka has been making headlines for weeks but please DO NOT forget the suffering in Darfur. It may not be making the front page but believe me people are dying everyday.
So K’naan is about to drop a new album in 09′ and the video for a track entitled Somalia was recently released on the net! If you’re not familiar with K’naan, he is a M.C. hailing from Somalia (of course) and what separates him from other artists is the fact that he’s REAL. He defies the rules when it comes to music and that is why he is so successful. You don’t need a single on FLOW, you don’t need a video on MUCH and you definitely don’t need a billboard in Dundas Square to be making noise and sellout shows. The aforementioned are merely false senses of security and too many so-called rappers use these as measuring sticks of success (poor souls).
On the other hand, K’naan has got something different; he’s UNIQUE and his music speaks for itself. That’s why he so successful. Also, he’s got TALENT and PASSION and that’s really all you need to succeed in the music industry. That mixed with a compelling story (which K’naan has) is the formula for success (it’s not rocket science). Rappers need to do themselves a favor and lay off the auto-tune and vocoder and create their OWN sound, like K’naan did!
Now residing in Toronto, the Somali MC is following up his freshman release The Dusty Foot Philosopher, with a new album called TROUBADOUR which will be dropping in the first quarter of 09′. Much like TDFP, keep your ears peeled for more poltically driven and thought provoking lyrics mixed with array of unique production that you will be hard-pressed to find anywhere else. For more info, peep the links below!
I’m sure you’ve noticed to recent music related post and I hope you’re enjoying them. One of the advantages to having your own blog is that you can write about whatever the fuck you want. I choose not only to keep y’all up to date with Embargo Clothing but I love to highlight my favorite artists and give them some shine (whether they need it or not).
Enjoy
Oh it’s true, there’s an EMBARGO! Anyways, the question I get asked most frequently is, “What does embargo even mean?” I know some people will probably roll their eyes, but I genuinely get asked this on the regular!
“In international commerce and politics, an embargo is the prohibition of commerce (division of trade) and trade with a certain country, in order to isolate it and to put its government into a difficult internal situation, given that the effects of the embargo are often able to make its economy suffer from the initiative.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embargo
So, how does that translate into a name for a clothing company? Well, it doesn’t but it sounds COMMANDING and the word looks sweet on tee. It’s also a very political word and I like to think my shirts have some political significance. I do have my own personal spin on the word and how it fits as an appropriate name but it merely me just being creative. But in all honesty, the word to me holds a certain essence that just makes it RIGHT!
So when are the new designs coming out? I ask myself that same question everyday! Having a 9 to 5 and filled weekends doesn’t leave much time to work but no more excuses! Spring 09′, it’s time to shine…
Peace ya’ll
It’s been a hot minute (what does that even mean?) since I wrote my last entry but felt this little tidbit of news was worthy of a fresh post. In case you haven’t heard yet someone discovered Busta Rhymes new track entitled Arab Money and got a little offended. Rightful so. His name is the Narcicyst, an Iraqi rapper born in the UAE and residing in Montreal, Canada. A former member of the critically acclaimed hip-hop trio Euphrates, Narcicyst caught wind of the controversial song and felt obliged to respond and defend his people, country and faith.
Not only did his words make headlines but they also grabbed the attention of Busta himself who later personally called him and issued an apology vowing to pull the track from all major media outlets.
I justed wanted to give Narcy props for what he did and give him some shine on the website. In case you are not familiar with him, I will put up two of his mixtapes (Stuck Between Iraq And A Hard Place) for your pleasure which set the stage for his upcoming album. In the meantime check out his website, blog and myspace page.
One.
http://www.myspace.com/euphrates
http://illuminarcy.blogspot.com/
“War with the system like the streets of Oaxaca“ – Immortal Technique (Hollywood Driveby)
Okay, so it’s been a while since my last post (that’s an extreme understatement) but what better occasion to get back in the mix than a new Immortal Technique release!! On June 24, Technique dropped the highly anticipated 3rd World album /mixtape (whatever you wanna call it), a collaborative effort with DJ Green Lantern. Apparently, he is still dropping Revolutionary Vol. 3 sometime in the near future so we won’t have to wait long for his next release. After fully taking it in, I must say that it is typical Immortal Technique and those who loved his last albums will love this one. Green Lantern, aside from contributing production wise, adds some nice scratches and pull backs on a few tracks but he doesn’t do anything to ruin the flow of the album; in my opinion the mixtape format worked well in this instance. I’m not going to drop a full out review, but I will comment on one of my favorite tracks, Hollywood Driveby, which features PsycoRealm & Sick Symphonies!! This is very different sounding track with a very west-cost centric sound, but Technique makes it WORK and he even shouts out the brothers and sisters struggling in Oaxaca…Classic. Before I bounce, I gotta give big props to Chino XL because he absolutely murders his verse on Lick Shots
Anyways, I’m out. Go buy the album:
Preview Tracks:
Immortal Technique – The 3rd World
Immortal Technique – Hollywood Driveby (Feat. Psycho Realm & Sick Symphonies)
Bonus Material:
Since I started writing this blog, the number one question I keep getting is “how do I get a shirt?” I’m glad people are asking because that’s pretty much the point of the blog. I’m trying to make it easier for everyone to get one because right now we are basically doing the “out of the trunk” shop (mad slack, I know) and up till now it’s been pretty successful but we want to make it easy for those who do not live in the GTA to get their hands on some Embargo tees. We are working as quickly as possible to get a shopping cart up in this piece, but until then anyone whoever wants to grab a tee can just hit me up with an email and we can sort out a way to receive yours. If you do live in the GTA then I will personally deliver your shirt to your doorstep! I do have a “sales@embargoclothing.com” email address but I always find those so impersonal and bureaucratic sounding so just email my personal email address at brown_study[@]hotmail.com (feel free to add me to MSN) and we’ll work something out. Just let me know what color of tee you want and what size (only got L-XXL in stock) and I’ll get back to you ASAP. All shirts below are $20 and I got white tees with black print (pic up soon). For more pics check out my FLICKR page.
Well, the March 6th rally against York University’s sweatshop policy was a HUGE success and it goes to show what a group of dedicated and stubborn students (along with jugs of water and pizza) can accomplish. The event ended up getting a lot of press coverage throughout the city and that probably played a huge role in prompting Dr. Shoukri to crawl out of the cave he’d been hiding in for almost two days. In the end, the President, after 45 hours, finally agreed to meet with students and commit to changing York’s stance on sweatshops. I got a lot of nice pics of the rally and the march to the president’s office that ensued; I put some pics below, but if you wanna check out the whole album then visit my Flickr page. I should have some video footage up soon as well, but I just gotta take the time to upload them. Enjoy!
The situation currently unfolding in Colombia is a disturbing reminder of just how extensive the global war on terror actually is. Not only is there a fierce, and publicly open, war being fought in the Middle East and South Asia, but a equally fierce and brutal war is being silently fought in America’s proverbial “backyard” of Latin America under the pretense of “terrorism”. On Saturday March 1, Raul Reyes, commander and spokesperson of FARC, was assassinated during an air-attack in ECUADOR by the Colombia Army. In case you missed it the first time, it happened in Ecuador, meaning the Álvaro Uribe illegally ordered an air-strike on a neighboring sovereign nation. A lot of people do not equate terrorism to Latin America, but the U.S. has craftily used the “terrorism card” to secure its interests and influence within the region. Uribe, with the help of Plan Colombia, has created an atmosphere of terror characterized by private power, repressive forces and assassination (ironically in the name of terror itself) to create an investment friendly Colombia. Meanwhile, the U.S, sits back and watches their little investment practically pay for itself as it hopes to creates a “stabilizing” counter-weight to the emerging Left in Latin America.
For more info check out the links:
Well, the school which claims to “redefine the possible” is having a rather hard time defining their sweatshop policy. Actually, I lied, they aren’t having a hard time at all but I found the irony and hypocrisy of their “slogan” far too tempting and such an easy target. Anyways, students @ York will be taking it to the streets this coming Thursday, so feel free to come and join the cause. The info below was forwarded to me, so check it out:
The Sustainable Purchasing Coalition at York will be holding a No-Sweat (No Sweatshops) Rally on Thursday, March 6th.
Did you know York STILL does not have a No Sweat policy? Almost 8 years after the University of Toronto adopted a policy and began taking leadership on this issue, York persists on not having adequate standards for the conditions York apparel is produced under. York University has done this despite student and faculty pressure to live up to its reputation, and abide by its mission statement’s commitment to ‘global concerns’ and ‘social justice’.
The No Sweat Working Group of the Sustainable Purchasing Coalition (http://www.yorku.ca/spc_ft
/) has attempted to get change through dialogue for the past three years with no luck, and now they’re organizing a demonstration to prove to the administration that the York students, faculty and staff DO CARE. We care whether forced labour, child labour, unfair wages, discrimination, or physical, emotional and sexual abuse took place to produce YorkU clothes. If you care, please attend the demonstration and sign the petition to let the administration hear your voice! No Sweat Rally
March 6th, 2008
Vari Hall @ 1:00
416.721.3471
spcyork@gmail.com
