In 2008 she was nominated for “Best Performance by an International Poet” in the Farrago London Slam awards. Her first solo show - Kiss and Tell, premiered at Hau Zwei as part of the Berlin 100 grad theatre festival. In 2009 she entered the world of hosting and creating events, the first of which, the anti-slam, is a satirical take on slams where the worst poet wins. Her poems play with the unspoken dialogue in romantic and sexual relationships, the neurosis that plays into the world of urban dating, stories from the edges of club culture, and the politics of being a cosmopolitan woman of colour.
UNTOLD SONGS VOL 1 SUPPORTED BY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
UNTOLD SONGS ARTIST: TANYA AUCLAIR
an exceptionally talented singer/ songwriter from London. If there's one thing I look for in new music it's originality - not just for the sake of it - but an artist with a really unique perspective who doesn't give in to easy clichés. I don't speak lightly when I say that is a rarity (you can check out my inbox if you need proof), and I think Tanya has something special when it comes to penning a song
UNTOLD SONGS ARTIST: YARAH BRAVO
In a time where music has evolved to exist largely as a monster money-making
machine and a shallow showcase for stripped-off sex-kittens, there stands a
young lady willing to show the world it’s all about the heart.
CLICK HERE LISTEN BACK . If you missed last nights interview and studio performance with Dom Servini (Wahwah45s) onColourful radio withBelle, Kersha Baileyand Kadija Kamara talking about Belle latest project Untold Songs Vol1. an all female compilation album launch party and release.
For those who don’t know, OG Niki is a 16-year-old rapper/emcees from Birmingham, UK. She has caused a stir regarding a rap song that was released on youtube via the site Grime Blog, back in April that details her sexually explicit escapades.
She opens the track with: “Get fuck from the back singing lalala/I’ve fucked six mans on the camera…” When listening to this and the other rest of the song millions of thoughts rushed through my head. Firstly as a young black woman seeing an even younger black woman talk about her sexuality in such a way regurgitates the jezebel stereotype that labels all black female sexuality. Then I remembered, she is only 16-years-old, she has just finished her GCESEs, she is still a child – she can’t even vote. If, she knew the history of where her narrative places her, would she talk about her body, well her pussy in such a way? But, this is where we as older women come to help support, guide and educate this young about her womanhood. There is no point hatin’ if we are not going to take ownership and responsibility for our young women. What is the point in telling her how “nasty” she is without showing her an alternative?
Trying to understand the psychology of someone you don’t know is very hard, for obvious reasons. I guess I can only speculate why she has chosen to emerge herself into the Grime/Hip-hop scene in such a fashion. But there is a sense of agency and ownership that Niki executes here. She puts out her business before anyone of the guys can and ultimately she is in charge of the information, she eradicates he-said-she-said gossip. She is able to use her sexual exploits as way to gain attention to her music. But the real question here is whether she is gaining the right attention? Admittedly, as a fan of hip-hop music, OG Niki has a great rhythm and flow and could quite easily put a few guys to shame. In her own words, her twitter followers went from 198 to over 4,500 in space of two days when this video was posted on youtube. Not only that, the amount of virals in response to this song have literally assassinated her character. I expected and she did too to get a lot of responses, ranging from her “keeping it real” to being called a “slag,” the latter being the emphasis. Comparing Niki’s treatment to Skepta’s (a Grime emcee), who graced us with a short porno to accompany his song, ‘All Over the House,’ speaks volumes on accountability of sexual relations between men and women. To be fair to Niki, she used her own sexuality and body to gain attention; Skepta used a woman’s to achieve the same means.
There is no doubt, that Niki has capitalised on our obsession with scandal and sex, but does she deserve our attention? Since her internet debut, there has been only one follow up track which she features on, again telling us how great she is at sex. So, has Niki somehow manipulated this generation’s addiction to easy fame through selling female sexuality? Something tells me Niki was and is aware of what gets people talking and by being outrageous as she possibly could she has done just that. But I also sense naivety about what she has engaged herself in, the pragmatics of undertaking the ‘hypersexual female rapper role,’ is a shackle that is impossible to shake. If we look at a contemporary example, Miss Niki Minaj, who offers the braggadocio of, ‘I am just as bad as the boys’ it is not too hard to understand why 16-year-old OG Niki has taken route to get her music heard in this way. The difference is, Niki Minaj has corporate label to promote her music on an international scale, if you are going to sell female sexuality lets globalisaed that sh!t. When we are used to seeing women’s bodies and sexuality being exploited to sell anything as the norm, then why not use your own to promote your artistry? Has Niki taken patriarchy by the balls and said, ‘you are not using my sexuality to sell me, I am!’ Or is she complying with the oppression of women and their bodies?
I do hope whatever she was seeking from posting up that video, she has obtained it- at her own expense. Whether it was 15 minutes of fame, a record deal or just to get “people talking,” I would like to believe that she could look back and reflect on the productivity of her actions. But in the mean time, as women instead of hating on her lets support her through love.
This piece is originally written by myself appearing on my personal blog: bitcheszine.com
A few days ago on facebook I was involved a interesting discussion about Miss Beyonce Knonwles's latest video and song, 'Who Run the World,' I was then ask (read: demanded) to leave the thread as my views were not welcomed. You my have guessed by the title and the general tone of this piece, I'm not too impressed with it. But this woman, whom I would like to adopt, hits it on the head. Its only five minutes long for those who like their information bitesize. The worst part is, that blood chorus is annoying catchy!
At last Mr Ryan Giggs has been named as the mystery footballer that had an affair with Imogen Thomas; lets be honest, it was all bit emperor’s new clothes weren't it - but alas he is legitimately named. Is it me, or do these so “gagging” orders (imposed by wealthy men who have extra marital relations with younger less wealthy women) reeks of misogyny, which appears to be upheld by our so called justice system.
So if you are a wealthy footballer who is married, and wants to have a little bit of fun on the side, then decided it is getting bit too messy, here is what to do: gag the bitch! But when you impose a super-injunction that forbids the press from naming you, but allows the entire nation to know who this “fallen woman” is, don’t be surprised when you are named and shamed. Yes this is direct at you Giggsy!It is simply called Karma and she bites: hard. I’m not calling for a medieval public execution of one’s character, what I’m asking is why even name her in he first place, especially if you wanted to keep it all hush-hush?
Admittedly this gagging order provided Giggs the perfect opportunity to hide in shame and allow this woman to take the responsibility of his behaviour: a voiceless woman, as this is what patriarchy loves the most. I mean she wasn’t sleeping with her self, now was she?But it appears once you are a wealthy male with lots and lots of money you can in effect purchase the law for your own means. But Imogen is not the only woman to be silenced by these orders over so called calling for privacy. I personally don’t think it is even about privacy, it is just about showing off because hey have penises and they can do whatever they like with it. In our materialistic society, where money denotes power, these rich men are drowning in it. When they think they might get caught, they go running for cover by screaming "wolf" vis-a-vis privacy. The real question here is the inequality in the criminal justice system surrounding these super-injunctions which is only open to rich men and these women's legitimate right to freedom of speech. It like we have regressed by a few centuries, where women should be seen and not heard. It seems absurd to me, that a (male) judge can provide anonymity to a man, but happily allows this woman’s names to splash across the tabloid and have her reputation in tatters. By Giggs going all Gestapo on us he simultaneously silenced Imogen and revealed her identity in one single act. At her expense, he cowardly hid behind this gagging order to "protect" himself and supposedly his family. But this was really about himself, his reputation and his penis and not necessarily in that order. The real victims here, are his wife and children, but they had nothing to do with being "protected," if he had really thought about them, just that once, he would not have been playing ball in Imogen’s garden.
I am not condoling Imogen’s behaviour, they were both wrong, but I would say proxy to her being a woman she was scapegoat for leading him astray.All I can see is this, because she did not have the financial clout to buy the best lawyers in town, she was unable to protect her reputation and hide behind her own injunction.If according to her publicist, Max Clifford, she had no intention of even selling her story and she even told Giggs this, then why did he go wrong slapping tapes o people's mouths? I guess a guilty conscience troubles the soul.
We are so excited about the launch of our forth coming release Untold Songs: Volume 1. The Launch Party kicks off on Saturday 11th June 2011 in collaboration with Amnesty International UK This is through the hard work and passion of our girl Bellewho has also curated the album. So what is Untold Songs about? Well Untold Songs: Volume 1 is a groundbreaking compilation of songs from female artists brought together from all across the globe. Untold Songs: Volume 1 is being released through Jus Like Music Records in collaboration with Amnesty International to raise awareness for their"Stop Violence Against Women"campaign. The majority of the proceeds will go directly to the charity.
We are so excited to be giving away a signed copy of Ursula Rucker's latest album titled'She Said'. It's a great album definitely worth having in your collection. As many of you will know Ursula Rucker also features on our current Untold Songs: Volume 1 in conjunction with Amnesty International UK. So fancy getting your hands on this hot album! simply answer this question by Q: What is the name of Ursula Rucker's track on our compliliation album Untold Songs. Vol.1 send your answers to us via @shesaid2much with your answer plus include the following #hastage #untoldsongs. Closing Date is Friday 3rd June with the winner announced on Monday 6th June. Good Luck
She Said 2 Much promotes Music, Women and Human Rights. To start this movement we are releasing "Untold Songs: Vol 1" with Amnesty International, a compilation featuring:
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