by vincent & tafakari (WHAT ?! I wasn’t even there!) It all started when we did the T-shirt shoot for RepJa.  It was a fun Sunday afternoon and my girl Tara showed up to film the behind-the-scenes (she thinks she’s an auteur or something).  We were having so much fun that, on an impulse, we decided to have a get-together at her shop, The Crochet Fashion Gallery.  Tara and I didn’t know what we were going to do or what it was going to be about, but we knew we were going to do it in a week (because it was the last week of free parking).  Finally, we decided to go with The...

BLACK ON BLACK RHYME ATLANTABLACK ON BLACK RHYME ATLANTAin partnership with PLUSH Promotions, Jangalang Ent., March 4orth Design, and Studio 281 presents…TAKE A LOAD OFF TUESDAYS“A RELAXING ATMOSPHERE TO JAZZ UP YOUR WEEKDAY BLUES!”featuring SPOKEN WORD – JAZZ – NETWORKING.  Tuesday, July 13, 2010 featuring One Truth from Cleveland. Bring three friends and get in for FREE!  (We can’t make people regulars until they see how nice the vibes are at the show. So we’re asking you to bring as many friends as possible. Bring 3, get in FREE!) Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post...

Out in Pangea’s Garden, everything looks beautiful, but nothing comes to fruition without seeds of thought and vision.  A couple of weeks ago, the Pangea’s Garden team had a “drive-by” meeting of the minds at Octane…and by “drive-by,” I really do mean drive by, meet the minds, chat, hug, share a bit, and go home happy.   You can catch us at Octane every few weeks or so; it’s like our boardroom, but without the swivel chairs and stiff table rectangular table.   We really envision the Garden as a community of artists sharing and participating in...

This a revisit of an old friend in the Garden Shakazz of AFROCHIC. Shakazz is an African born photographer who is now based in Paris. According to Shakazz, “My concept is called AFROCHIC and it’s all about Ebony photography, entirely dedicated to my people because KINGS and QUEENS are what we are. It’s black-owned business. I work with models, artists, singers and ordinary people. “Check out my work on www.afrochic.book.fr and if you wanna get in touch, hit me on facebook at AFROCHIC. If ever you decide to come to Paris and if you like my style, feel free to contact me for...

The following is a story I was fortunate to read by Surya Devi Shofar on blog The Sex-Sensual Griot. As I read it, I was intrigued and thought that I should do a write up of my own but the more I read, the more I realized that Surya’s story says it all. So here it is. Naked Expressions of Leading Black Women! The naked unveiling of her body in her video, “Window Seat”, was Erica’s way of showing the world that she has climbed higher dimensions of her spiritual journey while making a fierce political statement that inter weaved the past and brought us a flash into the...

It was a hot and humid Sunday. Tall, old trees in a park in south Atlanta were the backdrop for blankets & barbecue, coolers and acoustic soul. The day started slow. It was the perfect day for music in a park and such events were happening elsewhere in the city. The Pangea’s Garden crew arrived on the scene following a morning photo shoot. They were met with others at Perkerson Park who brought chicken and drink and chips and we all chilled out listening and dancing and enjoying the day. The cops tried hassle us but we didn’t that get us. EVERYBODY had better things to do with...

A stroll through nature… Its a moment of sun and wind and clouds next to the lakeside. We were talking and creating images. We conversed about a lot of things. We talked about hair; she styles natural hair beautifully. Talked a little about aspirations. The young sista dreams of publishing a natural hair magazine; I suggested that she blog about it here. And suddenly, in a moment of clarity, the sista formally known as Antiquity Lashay imparts a revelation. She takes on the alias of ISIS. ISIS, the Egyptian goddess of rebirth remains one of the most familiar images of empowered and utter...

Click. As Nobella painted earthSista Aya in preparation for our photoshoot, I captured the process and thought about what I could say about the origins of these images we were about to create. I wondered what you would want to know. Click. Sometime ago I approached Aya joining us in the Garden. Her extraordinary naptual beauty had caught my eye and her vegan lifestyle had piqued my curiosity. I would come to find out that she is one of the Raw Revolutionaries whose “mission is to provide informative delicacies that promote a healthy raw vegan lifestyle in assisting people with their journeys...

by Vincent You see his work and its stops you. Dead in your tracks its stops you. Michael Thompson’s colors are rich and vibrant; a tasty buffet of design for your eyes. Its worth a look but that not what stops you. There’s always a story in the design, elevating it to the highest forms of art. Its a 21st century Afrocentric aesthestic that provokes, entertains and inspires. It stops you because it takes you to a place that you haven’t been. Yet Michael says, “I use design as a visual language to educate, to fight injustice, and also a way to ignite conversation. This collection...

The sun was bright and it was hot. And we did not care. We were having too much fun. This year’s carnival theme, “It’s Yours, It’s Mine, It’s Carnival,” celebrated the Caribbean community’s ethnic and cultural diversity. The carnival Akicked off at noon with the Parade of Bands. The parade began in downtown Atlanta on West Peachtree Street and concluded in the Historic Sweet Auburn district. Historic Auburn Avenue has a history of being a rich source African American culture. Its the home Ebenezer Baptist Church, where Martin Luther King, Sr and Jr both pastored, as well as the location...