If You Ask Me...

Sometimes I find it challenging or hopeless finding the way to bridge that gap: art & social change. A lot of times it gets all fuzzy. What does it mean? Is it possible to have one with the other? Without compromising the other? But then I watch videos like these...and I get rejuiced.

One3snapshot approved. Culture. Art. Expression elopes and gets married to Social Change.

Omawumi is so One3snapshot!

Here's what I said:

" VIDEO OF THE YEAR. I got goosebumps watching this... I used to be light weight not quite feel Omawumi but this song is pretty dope...I love the approach to the issues she brought up, and this video is pretty freaking cool. I wish we would have more naija vids like these as opposed to those useless pop champagne and girls in the club."

 

Art is Health. Health is Social Justice.
Culture. Art. Expression.

,N

 

 

Visual Inspiration: This One's For Queens

Listen to this Les Nubians interview on NPR by one of my favorite hosts Farai Chideya, glad to hear her voice again on NPR. I love the regal pose in this picture.
-via Fly Girls

Visual Inspiration: Hand Painted Shirt Dress

I was looking through albums of some of our older work and came across this image. The story of how it was sold always brings a smile to my face mainly because it embodies the essence of One3snapshot. We were vending at SF Carnaval, and this beautiful lady who reminds me of Lalah Hathaway walks by our booth then she stops dead in her tracks when she saw this shirt-dress which Anneli hand painted hanging in our booth.

We tell her the history behind it and she totally had to have it. After bargaining down the price, she shook out every last dollar she had in her purse to get this dress. Come to find out she is an artiste! In my head I imagine she wore it to a performance and rocked the crowd because she felt super confident and sexy wearing this one of a kind dress that she alone owns to this day.

Whymsical Warriors Collection

Womyn should be celebrated every day. Without us there is nothing. This month is Womyn's History month, where we pay special attention to the contribution of womyn that is a lot of times taken for granted. March 8 is International Women's Day. Inspired by this one3snapshot is releasing it's Whymsical Warriors Collection (see pics below) this month to celebrate! Coming soon to an event & website near you!

Art is Health. Health is Social Justice. That's what drives us to create, express and live.

one3snapshot
culture. art. expression

WHYMSICAL WARRIORS

 The Town. HerStory.

Lady Justice

ReVulvaLution

Beyonce is a Damn Fool

In Honor of Black History Month, I'd like to dedicate my post to hating on Beyonce.

Beyonce I hate you.

It's funny 'cos now she keeps claiming that she draws inspiration from Fela...and I'm like since when? Lol now Fela is on Broadway and everybody wanna claim him... it's all good. Haha.

Umm Beyonce, since you love Fela so much, please be reminded that you're EXACTLY the kinda things he talked about that were wack about the system. You embody it all! Sell out oshi...

Our Fela "Teacher Don't Teach me Nonsense" was one of the first shirts we did here at one3snapshot way back before anyone thought of such a strange (but pretty cool) concept of a stage show, because art & social awareness is what we're about.  I wanna be like Beyonce here! can you read this? Can you please wear this? Can you please understand this? (lol don't knock my hustle).

I feel like a hypocrite because I'm working on this show ReVulvaLution which is all about exploring some of the issues that women have, one which is women hating on each other. I can't even believe that I'm writing this post. Because I try to have the if-something-is-rubbish-and-you-give-it-energy-by-saying-how-rubbish-it-is, then you're giving it attention and validating it's existence. But this one is so rubbish that it almost makes me laugh. I have this, I don't know if I'll call it a, love-hate relationship with Beyonce... it's more like a umm. Well here's the thing I appreciate some of her songs, I think single ladies & get me bodied are so cleverly arranged, and she's a hard worker and a pretty awesome entertainer.

As a black woman myself who's trying to do her thing, I admire some aspects of her, but in the same vein she irritates the fuck outta me. Sometimes I just wanna see her and spit in her face just a little bit like "You damn fool!!"

To me she's such a copier and a faker. She's irritated me since she said she was doing 'African dance' in the Baby Boy video with Sean Paul. I just can't explain what it is about how she does things that rubs me the wrong way. Maybe it's how she claims that she 'reinvents' herself and makes different characters when really all the time she's just a sexy blonde girl wanna be. Or how even though she's this 'strong black' woman she does not look like one and more and more is removed from that and messes everything up for the rest of us. Or the fact that she has the stereotypical American persona of capitalism and doing whatever it takes to make it to the top even if it's stiletto'ing your friends in the eyeball.

Chichi even blogged about this in 09 in response to this article

Why is a light skinned middle class Black woman from the suburbs of Houston perpetually singing about needing a baller when she made $87M in 07-08 and what role does this play in normalizing transactional relationships (money for sex) between young Black people? read more

I don't know how I can feel as angry at a 'black' woman  as I do some white/other knucklehead who appropriates our culture.

I just wanna be like BEYONCE SHUT THE FUCK UP and spit in her face. Lol. Gosh! Now she went and did these photos for the French Magazine, and the Blackface thing may not be the most irritating thing about the shoot... Like I can't decide if I'm more offended by that than by the stupidity and absolute wackness of the execution of the concept.

Now Get me bodied that. Idiot! *rolls eyes*

N

Busy Bee

Damn. It's been a minute. *insert busy rant* Basically working and trying to live a sane life. Lots of fun and exciting new and old things going on.

Working on the production of ReVulvaLution a performing and visual art event that celebrates the power of women and girls
Creating new work for my dance projects D-Fuse & Whoa!
Working on some new designs for One3snapshot ...the Whimsical Warriors collection in honor of Women's History Month in March & International Women's Day...Coming Soon

Trying to stay healthy, could be better. Will be.

MIMI Magazine: Africa + Me

The latest issue of MIMI Magazine features an article by our very own Nkei.
Read Africa + Me

Sale. Clearance. Sale!

Hi There,

At One3snapshot we would like to clear out our inventory so that we can make space for new creations. We are having a mega-huge clearance sale! If you've ever wanted to purchase something but thought it was out of your price range, if you've wanted to buy a gift for someone who you think may like it, if you've purchased way too many things from us and worry that we will drain your wallet if you bought one more thing.

Here's our opportunity to say THANK YOU and your chance to help us get rid of all this stuff, so we can get some more things (and then all the previous issues arise again :)

Visit http://one3snapshot.bigcartel.com/
 Help us spread the word. We're on Facebook. Please share the link on your page, tell your friends, mama, sister and cousin too!

Happy Lolliday MEGA-HUGE Sale!!

Dear one3snapshot friend, family & supporter.

We recently created a new reason to celebrate. Lolliday. What? Well basically Lolliday is a mega combination of everything that you ever liked to celebrate, wanted to but never had a chance and wished other people celebrated. So there Happy Lolliday!

To make room for the biggest Lolliday party ever we are putting EVERYTHING we have in stock on SALE!!

Yes EVERYTHING!

Happy Lolliday!! Help us clean out our closet. So we have space to create new things!

T-shirts for $10 & $5
Earrings as low as $1

Are we crazy? Possibly. But you would be also to not take advantage of this Lolliday celebration.

As if that weren't enough Take an additional 10% off all purchases with check out code LOLLIDAYSALE
Free shipping on orders $100 or more

Celebrate on www.one3snapshot.com
Culture. Art. Expression

I feel so f**king un-LUVED

Probably this is not relevant to the rest of you out there who haven't for the past 7+ years called yourself "Southwest's Bitch" as proudly as you can. But basically my day today has been ruined by this stupid article that better be an early April Fool's joke!


The short gist of it, for years I have been crazy loyal to Southwest Airlines and if you are half my friend you've probably called me an SWA agent because I've forced suggested to you that you opt to fly Southwest. Part of the reason is their Frequent flier program, where you just got points based on amount of flights flown and not based on miles. So it was easy to track and a student, short hop business traveler or regular 'common' person could still feel 'LUVd' and be encouraged to fly more. Now SWA announced that they spent $100million dollars in the last 5 years to come up with a new program that is shit! WTF? a 100million in 5 years to come up with something that a 5-year old will tell you is a bad idea.

So because I'm so attached emotionally and such to my relationship with Southwest...what started from an angry comment of sorts on their facebook page developed to this letter. I'm so mad!
 ---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Southwest,

I have flown Southwest since I was able to make decisions about what airline I pick and since I became more financially independent from my parents. Since then I have flown southwest as much as I can based on SWA's destination availability.

It is clear that I am not your biggest income generator, and therefore not a target customer to be catered to: I typically buy the cheapest flight option, most of my 'frequent ' trips are 1-hr flights between Oakland and Burbank, and these trips don't occur as frequent as you would like. But still I consider myself a very loyal customer to SWA; even if SWA costs more than another airline I will buy the ticket on Southwest. Not only do I fly SWA as much as I can, I strongly encourage (and sometime threaten) friends and family to do the same. Sometimes I even make decisions about where to or not go based on if Southwest flies there. “I'm sorry I can't come to your wedding, southwest does not fly there.”

My friends and family even call me a Southwest Agent. And they're serious when they say it.

Why was I such an advocate for SWA? Because I felt SWA was different and their business model showed that they 'cared' about 'people' even though they are not the most priviledged or the richest.

Over the years the RR program has been slowly climbed to cater less and less to the 'people', and now it has finally arrived to the top of the mountain.

SWA decides to say 'fuck-off' to their loyal customers and instead cater to the priviledged. I would like to say that this is a case of “biting the hands that feeds you.” But probably we less priviledged and commom people are not the hand that fed southwest, but we were the ones that did as much as we could to support a seemingly alternative and positive business model.

Yes I use the f-word in my letter to SWA because that's how I feel. Like they are really saying that to me.

These days SWA flight attendants & customer service are rude, less helpful and engaging; SWA is creating a more 'class-based' flight reservation option, and now they have a frequent flier program that is just as sucky (for lack of a better word) as any other airline.

I'm sure you don't care that you lost my loyalty. Because now you will 'exchange' me for a rich business man. I understand: It's just business!

Way to go Southwest!

Un-LUV,

Your neigbhor-hood bleeding heart radical!

 N