Spotted via Africa is a Country: Die Antwoord - a trio from South Africa that happens to be the hipster obsession du jour, has previously been referred to as a “wild and savage rap group from the deep, dark, …

One Month before Haiti’s tragic earthquake, one month before the world suddenly woke up to the country’s plight - Haitian life and art were captured poetically in the first ever Ghetto Bienniale. The townships of Port-Au-Prince transformed into urban art landscapes, showcasing the dynamic visual artists in an aptly titled, “A Salon des Refuses for the 21st Century”. Asking the question, “What happens when first world art rubs up against third world art? Does it bleed?” The Bienniale hosted artists and academics from countries like Jamaica, Venezuela and Columbia to respond. This feature in Dazed Digital magazine captures some of what there was to say.

Susan Mullally’s photography project asks what you keep and why it is of value, in collaboration with members of the Church Under the Bridge in Waco, Texas. The portraits look straight at you, and the answers & objects are what is so incredible about the series– from a ten-gallon hat, to a pop bottle, to a washboard… What do you keep?

Diam continues to be “…known as a feminist rebel who spits rhymes about war, racism, poverty, and injustice–something that has placed the rapper in the line of French media fire.”

Read the full story from Bitch Magazine :: Judging An Emcee By Her Cover — Check out the video, and dates for Diam’s four month country-wide tour.

Report after report and survey after survey repeatedly indicate that Islamophobia in America and Europe is on the rise, not on the decline. America can elect a Black president and delude itself into believing a post-racial society has suddenly replaced one erected on racist legacy. America does have a history of tolerance and acceptance, but an accepted discourse of Islamophobia relinquishes any hopes conjuring up “post-race” America.

Is ethno-techno the new turn in appropriated world music? The sounds are widening in their scope and popularity but usually thousands of miles away from the subterraneans producers who unleash the source of these mixes. So, asks the Guardian, is the ethno-techno trend just another form of neo-colonialism?

Lately, Japan’s reinterpreted the Dancehall music craze that’s swept the country in the footsteps of an already popular reggae fanbase. According to the Guardian, there’s less than a sizeable Jamaican population in the country, but Jamaican dancehall is very popular - obscure club nights and all - around the country. But it’s not the Jamaican artists that have helped spread the dancehall bug - there’s an authentic Japanese form of dancehall that’s growing in popularity, where it’s not unheard of some Japanese dancehall artists selling out stadiums.

Avatar :: Though visually breathtaking the movie has many issues in basic plot and storytelling, without even the problematic narratives about the noble savage, “primitive” native cultures and the way in which colonization, white privilege and white guilt is played out.

When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like “Avatar”?
Critics have called alien epic Avatar a version of Dances With Wolves because it’s about a white guy going native and becoming a great leader. But Avatar is just the latest scifi rehash of an old white guilt fantasy.

Just another way to keep up-to-date with Worldtown Hearsay. Always fresh!

Just another way to keep up-to-date with Worldtown Hearsay. Always fresh!