Event: "I'am Possible" - Empowering young women of colour in Britain (15th June)

Via Lisa Bent (Deeper than twitter)
I’mPOSSIBLE is a social enterprise founded by Simone Bresi-Ando. The aim is to educate and empower young women of colour in Britain, by promoting, highlighting and showcasing the achievements of successful individuals and their life stories, helping to encourage and inspire others along their individual paths.

The I’mPOSSIBLE.conversation, is a series of intimate panel led events taking place in central London.

The first, sponsored by premium hair care brand Mizani, will be held on Wednesday 15th June and hosted by vivacious actress Tameka Empson.

Sitting on the panel will be high profile industry professional’s playwright and critic Bonne Greer OBE, comedian Angie Le Mar, journalist and newsreader Charlene White, former commissioning editor for Channel 4 Daytime Angela Ferreira and author Precious Williams. Hear their stories, find out how they became POSSIBLE and how you can be POSSIBLE to.

Tickets are £25 and can be purchased online:
iampossibleconversation.eventbrite.com

I'mPOSSIBLE. conversation
Wednesday 15th June 2011
6pm - 9pm

B.Hive
6-7 Southampton Street
London
WC2E 7RS

For more information about I'mPOSSIBLE please visit:
www.i-am-possible.com

Video: Be an inspiration - Kwame Kwei-Armah

Be an inspiration is a must-see video of Kwame Kwei-Armah, the British and Afro-Caribbean actor, playwright and broadcaster. He talks about how he is inspired by simply observing the choices his role model makes in life and business.

This video is a must-watch because it shows us the impact of positive influence. In the video he talks about the effect he had on a person who saw a play of him about why black men weren't reading.

Also check out a very thought-provoking interview with Kwame Kwei-Armah on the BBC World News here (video) .

Kwame Kwei-Armah on multicultural Britain

Black British actor, playwright and director Kwame Kwei Armah is featured by the British Foreign Office to mark two years to go until London 2012.

In a film Kwame Kwei-Armah discusses why he believes the UK is now the centre of the Black diaspora world and how it’s a country of diverse cultures.

The film is one of the ‘See Britain through my eyes,’ series featuring individuals from home and abroad talking about their experiences of modern Britain in the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Watch the film below.



In the film Kwame talks about a television series he presented for Channel 4 in 2009, where he re-created the Queen’s 1953/54 tour of the Commonwealth. Kwame discovered that many people across the Commonwealth still thought that the makeup of British society was much like it was in the 1950s as opposed to the diverse, modern nation it is today. Kwame was glad he was chosen to front the programme as he was able to personally vouch for the UK’s multiculturalism.

Kwame also discusses how proud he is of the progress Britain has made in reducing inequality in society. He thinks Britain today is a tolerant country, comfortable in its own skin, where tradition and modernity can co-exist.

Kwame Kwei-Armah is a celebrated actor, playwright and director both in the UK and overseas. He recently served as Artistic Director of the World festival of black arts and culture in Senegal and has just been appointed Artistic Director of Centerstage Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland.

He was born in London as Ian Roberts. He changed his name in his early twenties after tracing his family history (through the slave trade) to his ancestral roots in Ghana. His parents were born in Grenada, then a British colony and moved to the UK in the 1960s.

The film launch coincides with the thirtieth anniversary of the Tricycle Theatre in London where Kwame has staged many of his productions. The theatre has a strong reputation for hosting plays that reflect the cultural diversity of Britain and not afraid to tackle contemporary issues and events head on.

Kwame first found fame as an actor in the popular BBC hospital drama ‘Casualty.’ He became the first Black Briton to stage a play in London’s West End when his award winning piece ‘Elmina’s Kitchen transferred to the Garrick Theatre in 2005.’

Kwame Kwei-Armah is a celebrated British actor, playwright and director both in the UK and overseas. He recently served as Artistic Director of the World festival of black arts and culture in Senegal and has just been appointed Artistic Director of Centerstage Theatre in Baltimore, Maryland.

Theatre: "Once upon A Time in the 90s" - 26– 27 May 2011 in London

A compelling story following seven young people on a journey of self discovery.

A musical theatre production set in the 90's exploring the social issues that have affected the world across the years; although many of these issues are still present in society they are often seen as taboo and not spoken about.

Each of the characters is representative of a different era ranging from the 50's right up until the 90's. This piece makes political and social comment presenting comedic humour, song and dance and will be an entertaining experience to all spectators.

Featuring special guest performer AKALA (UK recording artist).



26TH – 27TH May 2011: The Albany Theatre Deptford, London, SE8 4AG. For more information www.thealbany.org.uk

Video: London rapper AKALA - "Find no enemy"

AKALA ,born Kingslee Daley (27), London, England is a UK rapper who enjoyed critical acclaim during the mid-00s with his progressive Hip-Hop. In 2006 he recieved the MOBO Awards for Best Hip-Hop Artist.

Akala, who is a fan of Jay-Z, grew up in North London, and uses his own life experiences when he writes. “All of my music is life,” he said. “My music is very autobiographical.” Another of his favourite artists is the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. “I love them! They are unique and different, and I would love to work with them sometime.

"Find no enemy" is the single from Akala’s third album “Doublethink” (2010).


In Nov 2010 Akala headlined a live performance at the British Library to launch the Evolving English exhibition and featured performances by the renowned British poet Zena Edwards, comedian Doc Brown and British rapper/activist Lowkey. The live event also included Akala taking part in a Hip Hop panel discussion alongside Saul Williams, US professor M.K. Asante and Lowkey. See the post British rappers criticise Jay-z

via
Africa is a Country

Afro-Europe in Black, Brown and Beige or “No, where do you really come from?”

TableTalk: Afro-Europe or “No, where do you really come from?” A conversation with Trina Roach (left on the photo) and her guest Lillian Ogbogoh (right) on blogtalk radio.

They discuss issues of national and cultural identity, and compare and contrast how those issues are viewed differently from country to country. Is there one black (European) way to act?

Trina Roach is an African American living in Germany and Lillian Ogbogoh is a British Born Nigerian (as she calls herself) who lives in London and has lived in the US.

Listen to internet radio with Creating Tomorrow on Blog Talk Radio

Some of the topics they covered
• How do you self-identify?
• How do you experience “community” amongst other people of African descent where you live?
• How is that sense of “community” expressed in different places in the Diaspora?
• How does the question of “critical mass” influence the lives of people of African descent where you live?
• What role does day-to-day racism play in your life?
• How well-represented are people of African descent in public life?
• What importance was placed on knowledge of Black/African History during your upbringing?
• What can we do to empower children of African descent living in Europe?

Zadie Smith about her mother, father and "White Theeth"

Best-selling British author Zadie Smith wasn't in the news because she wrote a new book, but because she claimed her childhood home was brimful of books – but most had been borrowed from a local library by her mother and not returned.

"I didn't steal books from library, says mother of Zadie Smith," wrote the Daily mail.

Her mother Yvonne Bailey-Smith, 56, agreed that her home had been full of books but insisted she bought most of them herself, spending up to £80 a time at local bookshops.

The story behind it was Zadie Smith's campaign to save a north-west London library opened by Mark Twain in 1900. Unfortunatly she lost the battle, the council voted in favour of closing half the libraries in the borough because of Goverment spending cuts.

I think it's the only photo on the net of Zadi Smith's Jamaican mother, and it's a shame it's linked to such a headline. Read the story at www.dailymail.co.uk

Zadi Smith's father

She lost her father 5 years ago. On the photo is Zadi Smith with her father Harvey. About the photo she wrote in NYT, " And this is me and my dad one Christmas past. I'm 5 and he's too old to have a 5-year-old." Her father was 55 by the way, and he divorced from her mother when she was 15.

But I don't believe she meant in a negative way. Because last year she wrote a very moving story about her father in The Sunday Times. To quote the headline, "Zadie Smith, her father and British comedy. A story about a mutual passion for the likes of Monty Python and the punchline she can’t escape — his death."

She wrote: "My father had few enthusiasms, but he loved comedy. ..

When Harvey was very ill, in the autumn of 2006, I went to visit him at a nursing home in the seaside town of Felixstowe, armed with the DVD boxed set of Fawlty Towers. By this point, he was long divorced from my mother, his second divorce, and was living alone on the grey East Anglian coast, far from his children.

A dialysis patient for a decade (he lost his first kidney to stones, the second to cancer), his body now began to give up. I had meant to leave the DVDs with him, something for the empty hours alone, but when I got there, with nothing to talk about, we ended up watching them together for the umpteenth time, he on the single chair, me on the floor, cramped in that grim little nursing-home bedroom ...

White teeth

Needles to say Zadi Smith became world famous when she published her novel White Teeth in 2000. The Amazon review states the book is about race, sex, class, history, and the minefield of gender politics.

But in an interview, Smith says, "I wasn't trying to write about race. . . . Race is obviously a part of the book, but I didn't sit down to write a book about race. So is a book that doesn't have exclusively white people in the main theme must be one about race? I don't understand that."

But her book will always be analysed from racial point of view. One of the most striking examples is the book "Zadie Smith's White Teeth - Irie as an example for 2nd generation immigrants’ desperate search for their place in a multicultural society".

In the book the author analyses the biracial identity of Irie, the daughter of Clara (see video). She writes about about Irie's feeling of unrootedness as a consequence of lacking role models and her unawareness of her own family’s history. Read it here.

In 2002 the novel was dramatised by Channel 4. For those of you who have missed it, see all the episodes at www.youtube.com.

Breakin’ Convention ' 11 - International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre in London

The three-day international festival, Breakin’ Convention in London is back with performances from some of the world’s best poppers, lockers, house dancers, b-boys and b-girls.

Date/place: 28 April - 2 May 2011 - Sadler's Wells,Rosebery Avenue, Islington, London EC1R 4TN.

Hosted and curated by Sadler’s Wells Associate Artist Jonzi D, Breakin’ Convention is much more than just a spectator sport, there will also be dozens of extra events taking place including workshops, film screenings, DJ demos, impromptu foyer freestyle sessions and even live aerosol art.



Breakin' Convention has been producing the critically acclaimed International Festival of Hip Hop Dance Theatre since 2004 at SADLER'S WELLS, featuring the very best, most influential artists from around the corner and around the world!

With tickets on sale for just £20 or £15 standing, book early to make sure you don’t miss out! Website www.breakinconvention.com

Sade to release "The Ultimate Collection" on May 3, 2011 + Tour

Sade will release a new greatest hits package, The Ultimate Collection, on May 3, 2011

The two-disc set will contain Sade’s biggest hits, as well as new songs. The new Sade record wil include a bonus DVD set with all the official Sade Ultimate Collection music videos.

The album has 29 tracks including four brand new songs – I Would Never Guessed, The Moon & The Sky remix featuring Jay-Z, Still In Love With You and Love is Found. All of Sade’s classics from Lover’s Rock, Best of, & Soldier of Love will be on the album

The Moon & The Sky remix featuring Jay-Z


Sade is also preparing a European and a US tour. In Europe she will be performing in April and May 2011 in Nice, Hamburg, Rotterdam, London and other mayor cities. For more information on her tour dates in Europe and the US go to www.sade.com

Sade - Still In Love With You (Audio)


Love is Found



The track list for The Ultimate Collection

Disc 1
1. Your Love Is King
2. Smooth Operator
3. Hang On To Your Love
4. The Sweetest Taboo
5. Is It A Crime
6. Never As Good As The First Time
7. Jezebel
8. Love Is Stronger Than Pride
9. Paradise
10. Nothing Can Come Between Us
11. No Ordinary Love
12. Kiss Of Life
13. Feel No Pain+
14. Bullet Proof Soul+

Disc 2
1. Cherish The Day
2. Pearls
3. By Your Side+
4. Immigrant+
5. Flow+
6. King Of Sorrow+
7. The Sweetest Gift+
8. Solider Of Love+
9. The Moon And The Sky+
10. Babyfather+
11. Still In Love With You**
12. Love Is Found**
13. I Would Never Have Guessed**
14. The Moon And The Sky (Remix Featuring Jay-Z)**
15. By Your Side (Neptunes Remix)+
+ Not on Best Of
** Never Released Before

UK journalist Hannah Pool discovers her origins in Eritrea for the first time

Hannah Pool, the cosmopolitan journalist from London, talks about her personal journey in one of the TEDxEuston sessions.

Born in Eritrea, growing up in Sudan and Norway - she arrived Manchester as a black girl speaking Norwegian. But the many countries Hannah had lived did little to prepare her for her big journey of discovery of Eritrea to re-discover herself and her life, as she admits, has never been the same.

Hannah Pool is, in her own words, British-Eritrean, Eritrean-British. She was born in Eritrea in 1974 and was adopted at the age of six months by a British scholar who lived and worked in the Sudan. She was raised in Manchester, England, believing that both her parents had died shortly after her birth.



She now lives in London where she worked as a columnist for The Guardian. At the age of nineteen, she received a letter from her brother informing her that her father was alive and she had a sister and several brothers who lived in Eritrea.

It took ten years for her to make the decision to meet with her birth family. She then embarked on a journey which took her back to her origins and which she recounts in her book titled My Fathers’ Daughter (Hamish Hamilton, 2005.)

In an interesting interview Hannah Pool talks about some her experiences with Tsigye Hailemichael.

Q: Were there many challenges growing up black in a white community?
H.P: Yes, very much so. There was a lot of racism. When you are a kid, people call you names. They shout at you: “famine victim” or make monkey noises when you go by. Then when I was older, I also experienced what it felt like for people not wanting to be friends with you because you are black.

Q: How did you react then?
H.P: Most black kids could understand me, but if you lived in a white family, then you would feel isolated. You did not have anyone to talk with. But also, in my case, even black children could be mean because I was like a white person: I spoke like a white person. You would feel very isolated. Basically you are on your own.


Q: How did you go about it when you wanted to trace your family back?
H.P: I spent lots of time not wanting to trace my family back. It is a very emotional issue but also it is very difficult. One takes great risks when taking the decision to trace one’s family back. One should be very careful and very thoughtful before taking any decisions. It is like opening a can of worms. Once it is open you don’t know what is going to happen. Also you are afraid. You are afraid of being rejected by both families. You are afraid your adoptive family feels resentful towards you. In fact, I felt as if I was betraying them. And my birth family, I was just afraid they would reject me and I would find myself isolated again.

Read the whole interview at www.shaebia.org.

UK MOBO Awards returns to Glasgow on 5th October 2011

The UK MOBO Awards in association with Lebara Mobile has announced it will return to Scotland’s cosmopolitan city of Glasgow on 5th October this year.

As part of a long standing relationship with the city it will be bringing the Awards to Glasgow in 2011, 2013 and 2015.

RnB Queen and MOBO Ambassador Alesha Dixon and MOBO Recommends rising star Yasmin were on hand to announce that the show will take place in the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC). See more information at MOBO.com

An actor's response to no ethnic minorities in English village drama

A black British actor responded in the Guardian to the remarks of Midsomer Murders producer Brian True-May who said Midsomer "wouldn't be the English village" with ethnic minorities. If you have missed it read the story here.

The actor felt he had to remain anonymous because of possible repercussions.

He wrote: “I have trained at one of the most eminent drama schools in the UK and have over 20 years of experience in TV, theatre, radio and film. The broadcasting decision-makers – executive producers, producers, directors, casting directors, writers, and even our agents, who are meant to be on our side – are aware that True-May's ramblings are not isolated.

They are aware that it is being thought, that it is being actioned, and yet for the most part they do nothing to put a halt to this discrimination, allowing it to continue year after year."

He felt that actors were afraid to speak out because of the consequences. Read the full story at the www.guardian.co.uk.

But black actors in other European countries also face the same problems. In a debate in The Netherlands a director posed the question, why you should use a black actor in a stage play if your audience is always white.

In Bollywood and Nollywood they don’t have these problems, this is a typical European thing; black actors on white stages. And the inconvenient truth is that these white stages and films make good money without black actors. It's clear multiculturalism has never worked.

But this debate has been going on for years now and apparently not much has changed. So perhaps there is only one option left, a European Tyler Perry who serves us black reality shows.

Read more about this story at Madnews

Ethnic minorities don't belong in my English village drama, says UK TV producer

Via Madnews: The producer and co-creator of the hit English TV drama Midsomer Murders has been suspended after telling The Radio Times in an interview that there was no place in the series for ethnic minorities.

He claimed the shows success because of its all-white cast

Producer Brian True-May said, "We just don’t have ethnic minorities involved. Because it wouldn’t be the English village with them. It just wouldn’t work. Suddenly we might be in Slough … We’re the last bastion of English-ness and I want to keep it that way.

Maybe I’m not politically correct … I’m trying to make something that appeals to a certain audience, which seems to succeed. And I don’t want to change it." See the full story at The List



I am not surprised that it's the English drama policy for English village series. I use to watch these English drama series with titles like "Murder in Cambridge", but somehow I never wondered why I never saw a Black or Asian person drinking tea with the vicar.

But that's danger of these images, they make you believe it's normal.

British Reggae star Smiley Culture has died + Press conference

British Reggae star Smiley Culture, real name David Emmanuel (47), has died after police officers raided his home in Warlingham, Surrey this Tuesday.

Because of the circumstance around his death a press conference was held today. Lee Jasper Chair of the London Race and Criminal Justice Consortium is chairing the press conference. Read the full story at Madnews

The Police Office singer is believed to have stabbed himself after officers raided his home.

The press conference


The 47-year-old, born and raised in south London, rose to fame as a DJ with the Saxon Studio sound system.

He released his first single Cockney Translation in 1984 but was best known for Police Officer which was a Top Twenty hit and earned him two performances on BBC music show Top of the Pops.

Emmanuel had claimed the song, a light-hearted take on police attitudes to black people at the time, was based on his own experience of being let off by officers when caught with a spliff after recognising who he was. Read the full story at The Voice.

Video: Marsha Ambrosius releases solo album 'Late Nights & Early Mornings'

UK singer Marsha Ambrosius released her J Records solo debut album Late Nights & Early Mornings.

Already proven as a talented, sought after songwriter and revered platinum-selling artist, Marsha Ambrosius is meeting the next challenge in her already impressive musical career by reinventing herself as a solo artist with her J Records debut disc Late Nights & Early Mornings .

Late Nights & Early Mornings is destined to be a classic, as Marsha offers a candid glimpse of her life and perspectives as a woman.



Inspired by musical icons like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder and Prince, she concedes there is an overall male influence in her songwriting, such as the assertive sentiments heard on hits like “Say Yes.” She explains, “My pen and my point of view has a certain aggression to it because I’ve listened to a lot of male influenced music, which I think makes me one of the most outspoken writers out here.

Sometimes as a woman you don’t wanna say what’s on your mind for fear of being judged. But why wouldn’t I say it like that if that’s how I felt?” Musical peers recruited to contribute to the project include Alicia Keys, a reunion with Dre and Vidal (producers of “Say Yes”), Just Blaze and Focus.

While her success in the industry is already solidified, Marsha knows it’s never easy to win over fans as a solo artist. Fortunately, she says, “It’s like being thrown in the deep end. ‘Okay I have to swim? Oh well.’ I’ve taken that attitude and it’s carried me forward.” (Source J records)

Late Nights & Early Mornings track listing:

1. Anticipation (Intro)
2. With You
3. Late Nights & Early Mornings
4. Hope She Cheats On You (With A Basketball Player)
5. Far Away
6. Lose Myself
7. Your Hands
8. I Want You To Stay
9. Sour Times
10. Tears
11. Chasing Clouds
12. The Break Up Song

Also see the very good feature story 'From Grind To Glory' about Marcha Ambrosius at Soul Culture

Book: Precious - A black woman's story about white foster care, identity and survival (UK)

"As a young child I hated being black and I honestly felt that all black people, especially me, were naturally ugly," said Precious Williams, the British author of the book Precious in an interview with Belinda Otas.

Williams's book is a true story about childhood, abandonment, identity, relationships, family, life’s obstacles and survival

As a toddler, the British-born daughter of a Nigerian princess Precious Anita Williams, was advertised in Nursery World in 1971: “Private foster parents required for a three-month-old baby.”

These ‘temporary’ fostering arrangements were apparently common in the 1970s as well as the unregulated care of African children which followed.

Precious or Anita (Neety) - her childhood name - was placed with a 57 year-old white woman ‘Nanny’, who had a penchant for fostering black children after reading Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, as a child. Read full story at www.thenewblackmagazine.com

Some snapshots of the interview with Belinda Otas

Precious Williams: "My definition of beauty as a child, growing up in a white town was that to be beautiful you had to look as white as possible. I honestly didn’t feel it was possible for a black person to be physically attractive unless they had white blood. That was the prevailing attitude.

When I spent time with my Nigerian family I’d notice they’d tell me how pretty I was but instead of making me feel good, it made me feel humiliated. I was convinced they were taking the p*ss.

The negative attitude I absorbed regarding black women and beauty didn’t only come from white people though. My Nigerian relatives would confuse the hell out of me by praising my relatively “fair” skin and at the same time lamenting my “tough” hair.

......

As a young child I hated being black and I honestly felt that all black people, especially me, were naturally ugly.

In feeling this way I was reflecting the prevalent attitudes around me that time. My memoir ends with me as a young woman, entering Oxford University in the early 1990s.

By that point I no longer hated my physical appearance. My shift in attitude about my looks had a lot to do with what was happening in pop culture at that time.

I was still living in a predominately white environment but black women had suddenly, to an extent, stopped being ‘invisible’. Naomi Campbell had arrived on the fashion scene. Hip-hop was capturing mainstream attention. Janet Jackson was one of the nation’s hottest pin-ups." Read the interview at Belinda Otas

Read more at www.preciouswilliams.com
and at her blog at http://preciousthebook.blogspot.com

Szjerdene - Jazzy vocals from London

The UK singer Szjerdene released her first unofficial single of 2011, "Think It Through". The song is a cover of the instrumental "Folk Song For Cello" by Savath y Savalas and is cowritten by Mar.

Think it Through
Szjerdene

Download   Share

On her website she writes. "Szjerdene may be young – but, in her own words, she is a product of the past. The songwriter and musical all-rounder has forsaken the oft-rodden road of modern, commercial R&B, in favour of honing her love of the old school jazz sound, putting her own twist on the genre.

Szjerdene draws inspiration from some of the great – Etta James, Sarah Vaughn, Jimi Hendrix and Marvin Gaye, to name but a few – and is currently working on her EP, entitled ‘Patchwork’, which promises to be a soulful, bluesy fusion of sounds both old and new."

Also check out the remix of Dorsh at http://dorshmusic.com

Video: Portrait Of Handworth riot in 1985 - Pogus Caesar (UK)

Black History UK: In 1985 racial tension and community discontentment escalated into the historical Handsworth riots that rocked Birmingham between 9th - 11th September 1985.

Birmingham film maker and photographer Pogus Caesar knows Handsworth well. He found himself in the centre of the 1985 riots and spent two days capturing a series of startling images. Caesar kept them hidden for 20 years. Why? And how does he see Handsworth now?.

The stark black and white photographs featured in the film provide a rare, valuable and historical record of the raw emotion, heartbreak and violence that unfolded during those dark and fateful days in September 1985.

See more information at BBC's Community features

Thank you Sabine for the information.

Video: 'With Wings and Roots' - Defining culture and belonging by people with immigrant parents

They ask: "Where are you really from?"
Via Der Schwarze Blog

Currently in production, 'With Wings And Roots' is a feature-length documentary and new media project set in Berlin and New York that explores what gets termed assimilation in the USA and integration in Germany.

The English subtitled trailer of 'With Wings And Roots'


The german trailer 'Wo kommst du wirklich her?' (Where are you really from) of Wings and roots, but with English speaking people and German subtitles


Set in two countries currently struggling with immigration and national identity, the film tells the stories of six children of immigrants from diverse backgrounds who are striving to expand their definitions of belonging. A wedding, a new career, applying for citizenship – through vérité footage and in-depth conversations, the protagonists go through personal rites of passage, each facing questions identity and belonging and finding different ways to root themselves.

'With Wings And Roots' takes a transnational approach to explore how young people in one old and one new immigration society are redefining culture, citizenship, race, and belonging in this era of unprecedented global migration.

Website at: www.withwingsandroots.com

Video: YolanDa Brown - Soulful Jazz from London

MOBO-AWARD winning saxophonist YolanDa Brown is widely regarded as the emerging “voice” of mainstream Jazz in the UK.

But Jazz is not her only talent. The 28 year old London born musician with Jamaican roots holds two Masters degrees and is studying for her PhD in Management Sience.

Brown's fusion of hip hop, gospel and contemporary R&B helped her win the Best Jazz category at the Music of Black Origin (Mobo) Awards in 2008 and 2009 and she has peformed at the London Jazz Festival and for the Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in St Petersburg, wrote the Haringey Independent

She said: "I started playing the piano at the age of 7 and have been through quite a few musical instruments since then, but I just fell in love with the sax and it's stuck. When I play it, it's like my own voice.

YolanDa Brown performing Story Live at the O2


YolanDa Brown plays Fela Kuti Classic "Lady" Live at the O2 in London


Her debut album is to be released later this year.

See official website at www.yolandabrown.co.uk

See the photostream of YolanDa Brown here