Singers

Singers from Africa America

Africa and people from African American origin have produced a string of talented singers like Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Shaggy & Will Smith. All of them have produced multiple hits and sold millions of albums to become household names across the World.

Beyonce

Beyonce was the lead singer of “Destiny’s Child” and went on to produce a number of hits with the group as well as solo.  She is a recording artist, actress and a fashion model. Her total record sales have surpassed 100 million and she is one of the top celebrities of the world.

Beyonce on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyoncé_Knowles

Some of her top singles:

Crazy in Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP49fe078ag&feature=related

Baby Boy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWsHtfdJxS0

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey has had singles which have been running on the top of the charts surpassing “The Beatles” and “Elvis Presley”. She has had a sale of 175 million to date.

Mariah Carey on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariah_Carey

Some of here top singles are:

HeartBreaker: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QfSnYxxVFuU&feature=PlayList&p=6E46F2E97420B2ED&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1

Honey: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShSHuseHjTk&feature=PlayList&p=6E46F2E97420B2ED&playnext_from=PL&playnext=2

Shaggy

Shaggy has produced some of the best selling singles like “It wasn’t me”, “Bombastic” “In the Summertime” and “Angel”.

Shaggy on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaggy_(musician)

It wasn’t me: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqCyTEONiwU

Bombastic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5i3O94XdAM&feature=related

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson “The King of Pop” has produced successful albums like “Dangerous” & “Bad”. He has sold more than 750 million albums worldwide and is one of the most awarded artist of all time.

Michael Jackson on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jackson

Some of his top singles are:

Bad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnroWnC6seQ

Beat it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3jCPtxOkGo

Janet Jackson

Janet Jackson being one of the Jacksons family has more than 100 million albums sale to her name. By the end of 1990’s, she was named the second most selling artist of the decade.

Janet Jackson on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janet_jackson

Some of her hit singles are:

Love will never do without you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufaw7OWu4EU

All for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2KabvvLF7M&NR=1

Will Smith

Will Smith is a popular actor, singer and film producer. In 2007, Newsweek named him the most powerful actor on the planet. He has successful produced music albums like “Big Willie Style” & “Born to Reign” and acted in movies like “Men in Black” series &  ‘The Pursuit of Happyness”.

Will Smith on Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_smith

Men In Black: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRuHk6Drj2U

Can the success of the African American singers provide a gateway for music from Africa to bloom?

Sports

Sports

Africa is more of a physical country with its long history of foreign rule, slavery & civil strife. Most of the people are developed physically and are yet to get over the idea of acting on their own self-will. However this has borne fruits in the area of sports with a lot of athletes churning out from Africa in most of the sports like Olympics, running, golf, cricket, basketball and more.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:African_American_sportspeople

Soccer

The World Cup Soccer is being hosted in Africa this season. Africa has produced some of the World’s best soccer teams like Cameroon and Ghana. Africa has produced some of the best soccer players like Abedi ‘Pele’ Ayew and George Weah.

Abedi Pele: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abedi_Pele
George Weah: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Weah
World Cup 2010: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup

Some of the top African teams contesting for the Soccer World Cup 2010 are:

Cameroon: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43849/index.html

Ghana: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43860/index.html

South Africa:  http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43883/index.html

Nigeria: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43930/index.html

Uruguay: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43930/index.html

Honduras: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/teams/team=43909/index.html

Running

Carl Lewis, Ben Johnson, Usain Bolt are from African origin who went on to become world class sprinters. They have retained honors of being fastest people on Earth over the last few decades.

African American Track & Field Athletes:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:African_American_track_and_field_athletes
Carl Lewis: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis
Ben Johnson: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Johnson_%28sprinter%29
Usain Bolt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_Bolt

Cricket

The West Indies team of the 80’s went on to win 2 world cups of ’75 and ’79. Players like Clive Lloyd, Malcom Marshal, Michael Holding, Andy Roberts went on redefine cricket in the 80’s and ruled the game.

West Indies Cricket Team: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Indies_cricket_team
West Indies Cricket Official Website:  http://www.windiescricket.com/
World Cup: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_World_Cup

Basketball

Africa has produced some of the most prolific Basketball players. Most of them are of African American origin. Michael Jordan is one of the most widely marketed players in the history of basketball.

African American Basketball Players: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:African_American_basketball_players
Michael Jordan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jordan
NBA: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association
NBA: http://www.nba.com/playoffs2010/index.html

Sports has had a rich tradition in Africa. With the Soccer World Cup 2010 being hosted in Africa, can it be the gateway to Africa’s development and success in the 21st century.

The History of Africa

The History of Africa

Africa, like India is one of the poorest continents with the largest population in the World. It faces wars, civil and internal strife along with economic and political instability. Below, we trace some of the important events in the history of Africa to come out with the nature of this beautiful continent.

Africa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa

The Start of a Civilization

The earliest of humans may have originated from Africa. This may have occurred 10 to 5 million years ago. They might have evolved from apes and evolved to modern human beings 40000 years ago, where they spread around the planet and colonized it. Agriculture and Metallurgy went on to be developed till about 1000BCE.

History of Africa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Africa

Past Wars and Civil Wars

Africa has been embroiled in wars, conflicts and coups since the 18th century. A lot of the struggles were to gain freedom from the European powers like Spain, England. The others were internal strife’s in which local tribes fought against each other for control of a territory. Then there were coups to wrest control at the top. Overall Africa has seen a violent history since the 18th century to the present times due to lack of unity & economic progress.

List of Conflicts in Africa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conflicts_in_Africa

Slave Trade

Slave Trade existed since the earliest times (650 A.D onwards) in Africa. Transatlantic slavery started flourishing since the 10th century. Millions of slaves have been traded since the earliest times in Africa. Slavery still exists today wit an estimated 27 million slaves worldwide, including women and children.

African Slave Trade: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_slave_trade

The Current Situation

Africa is under a cusp of a revolution where it is looking to unchain its past and launch itself into development and progress. Countries like USA, China, Germany, India have already shown substantial interest in its development. The question is how soon can it stabilize its internal strife, abolish slave trade, accept development and secure a future for its women & children.

Africa: Needs a Ride, Anyone Interested?

Africa

Africa, the oldest civilization on Earth, has been in turmoil since the beginning. Even now civil wars, internal strife is common in countries like Congo. The continent has over a billion people and natural resources, however it is yet to capitalize on it and flourish. What is stopping Africa to become like America & China? What will it need for them to bring about this change? Would it be external countries or there would be leaders & inventors like Abraham Lincoln, James Watt, Issac Newton, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, who would walk in this continent? Let us explore in this blog. Below is a set of chronological set of events in the history of Africa up to the present times.

History of Africa

The oldest civilization of man existed in Africa from 1.9million BC. The Egyptian rule formed its existence from 3300BC  up-to the 7th Century. Alexander, the Great formed Alexandria in Egypt which would go on to form the center for Roman rule. This part of Africa area was then integrated into the Roman system. From the 9th to the 18th century, organization was majorly local and existed in terms of families or small states (More than 10000). From the 17th to the 20th Century, major slave trade existed in Africa. In the 19th century, the European powers fought for domination over Africa. History of Africa in a nutshell.

History of Africa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Africa

Civil War

Africa has been rife with civil wars, coups and internal strife. Wars like Congo civil wars, East African Campaign War, Boer War, etc and more than 42 coups, have drained her resources and left her with devastation, poverty and diseases.

First Congo War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Congo_War
Second Congo War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Congo_War
East African Campaign War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_African_Campaign_%28World_War_I%29
Boer War: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Boer_War
Coups: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_d%27%C3%A9tat

Economy

Africa‘s GDP is about $2.5 billion with 1 billion people to survive. Africa has natural resources – Oil, Metals, Diamonds, Fish, Animals. It has a developed agricultural industry however it lacks in manufacturing, services. Africa is yet to experience the manufacturing & services miracle which countries like USA, Japan, China, Russia have experienced and India is on the way.

Economy of Africa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Africa

Poverty, Disease, Mortality Rate

Africa is stricken with poverty & diseases due to long periods of instability, civil wars and lack of progress. The reasons for all of these are similar to that of India’s (however India has the advantage of being one country with 1 billion people whereas Africa has more than 50 countries with 1 billion people again). The problems are like tribe wars, corruption, lack of leaders with vision.

External Influence from Countries

Arab Countries

Arab has considerable influence in the past in influencing trade in Africa through introduction of camel, maritime industry. Arab Africa’s economy is closely linked to the economies of Europe & Middle-East.

Arab Africans: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_World, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Arab

America
America has been and would be investing in Africa. However the companies of America need a initial stable environment before they can provide value to the region and themselves. Anything they do would be for the long run (100+ years). Extreme patience would be required from both sides in order for mutual benefit.

African-American Studies: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_American_studies

China
China has had a rich history of relations with Africa and has invested more than $1 billion in Africa currently. The investment and partnership would be crucial for Africa if it has to lift majority of its people out of poverty and disease (it can follow the China story)

China Africa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-African_relations

The African Icons around the World

Leaders like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Tiger Woods, Barack Obama have made a mark around the world. They represent what any African can do in this world.

Martin Luther King: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.
Rosa Parks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_parks
Tiger Woods: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_woods
Bolt: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usain_bolt
Obama: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama

What next?

Africa, one of the most populous places, is also the most underdeveloped regions on Earth. The common man of Africa is yet to get his share of place in this World. What will it take for Africa to achieve this? With civil wars, coups, conflicting interest between countries in the same continent, external influence, it will take more than one leader from Africa to change her course to glory. Leaders of the highest quality. A feat which perhaps no leader in the world has dared to undertake yet. Africa calling? Anyone interested?

*** In Accra, you say ‘meeng-gah-bou’ for ‘Hello’.
* Che Guevara in Congo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_guevara#Congo

Hey World

Hey Folks

This is a blog all about Africa. Its challenges and its trumps. Its history, its present and the future. Most of all its about its people and their life.

Have Fun exploring Africa 🙂

Deepak